Moviegoers will have to wait a little longer for the return to Gotham City as Matt Reeves’ follow-up to The Batman has been pushed back to 2027. The superhero sequel was originally scheduled to open on October 2, 2026, but will now do so once a year and open on October 1, 2027 at Imax, Warner Bros. announced on Friday.

That created an opportunity for Alejandro G. Iñárritu and Tom Cruise’s upcoming film, which hits theaters in 2026, just as awards season begins. The film, which does not yet have a title announced, will be released in Imax on October 2nd, the same date as The Batman 2 was released.

Warner Bros. made a few more changes to its upcoming release schedule, swapping the openings of Bong Joon Ho’s Mickey 17 and Ryan Coogler’s Sinners. Now, “Mickey 17,” which stars Robert Pattinson (who plays the Dark Knight in Reeves’ comic series), will hit theaters on March 7, 2025, while “Sinners,” which stars Coogler with his “Black Panther” and Coogler work together again, “Fruitvale Station” star Michael B. Jordan will be released in theaters on April 18, 2025. That’s the date “Mickey 17” was originally scheduled to debut, but new studio sources say the release will allow Bong’s film to play longer in Imax.

The Cruise and Iñárritu film is shrouded in mystery, but according to the official logline released by Warner Bros., it follows “the most powerful man in the world” as he “embarks on a frantic mission to prove that he is the savior of humanity before he causes a catastrophe”. unleashed destroys everything.” The all-star cast includes Sandra Hülser, John Goodman, Michael Stuhlbarg, Jesse Plemons, Sophie Wilde and Riz Ahmed. Legendary Entertainment, the studio behind “Dune,” is producing the film. It’s a change for Cruise, who has been busy saving the world in more conventional action films like “Mission: Impossible” and “Top Gun: Maverick.” Iñárritu is a two-time Oscar winner whose credits include “Birdman” and “The Revenant.” The pairing appears to be a throwback to Cruise’s earlier career, when he teamed up with high-profile auteurs like Martin Scorsese, Steven Spielberg, Oliver Stone and Paul Thomas Anderson.

“Mickey 17” is about a man (Pattinson) whose job it is to die for a living. The cast includes Mark Ruffalo, Naomi Ackie, Steven Yeun and Toni Collette. The film’s release date has been postponed several times and was originally scheduled to hit theaters in spring 2024.

“Sinners” is a horror film that stars Jordan as twin brothers who return home to find “an even greater evil.” The ensemble also includes Hailee Steinfeld, Jack O’Connell, Wunmi Mosaku, Jayme Lawson, Omar Miller and Delroy Lindo. The delay in the date of “Sinners” was partly due to a lack of post-production facilities to put the finishing touches on the film. ““Sinners” was shot on film, which exacerbated these problems.

“The Batman” debuted in 2022, just as the film industry was shaking off the effects of COVID closures. The film grossed more than $770 million worldwide and was praised for its moody, atmospheric take on its title character. The film also inspired the HBO spinoff series The Penguin. In a recent conversation with Zoë Kravitz, who starred as Catwoman, Reeves said he is in the process of finishing the script for the sequel and plans to “shoot next year.”