Los Angeles: Acclaimed filmmaker Steven Soderbergh has stepped in to complete the shooting for "The Batman Part II", days after its director Matt Reeves took a break from the project to focus on a family matter.
In a statement, a representative of Warner Bros and DC Studios said Soderbergh is an "admirer" of Reeves and offered to help him with the Robert Pattinson-led project.
"As Matt Reeves continues to attend to an ongoing family matter, Steven Soderbergh, as an admirer of Matt’s work, approached Matt and will step in, with the full support of DC Studios, to help the writer-director complete the final weeks of principal photography on ‘The Batman Part 2'.
"Matt and Steven will work closely together with the actors and crew to fulfill Matt’s vision of the film," the representative said.
In a post on X, Reeves clarified that he remains associated with the project and thanked Soderbergh for helping him complete its shoot.
"Just to be clear, I am not leaving ‘The Batman Part 2’. I am profoundly grateful to Steven for coming to my aid during this challenging time to help me finish principal photography. Thank you to all for your concern and well wishes," he wrote.
Soderbergh is known for his versatile and experimental storytelling, where he has often moved seamlessly between independent cinema and mainstream Hollywood.
Since his debut with "Sex, Lies, and Videotape" (1989), which won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival, the filmmaker has directed movies such as "Traffic" (2000), which earned him the Academy Award for Best Director, and the heist trilogy "Ocean's Eleven" (2001), "Ocean's Twelve" (2004) and "Ocean's Thirteen" (2007).
His credits also include "Erin Brockovich" (2000), "Contagion" (2011), and "Magic Mike" (2012).
"The Batman Part II", which has faced several delays since it was first announced, will see Pattinson return as the Caped Crusader.
The film was originally scheduled to release on October 2, 2026, before being pushed to October 1, 2027. In July, Warner Bros moved the release date again to February 2028.
The sequel also stars Scarlett Johansson, Farrell, Sebastian Stan, Serkis and Wright.
Reeves' first film, "The Batman", was released in March 2022 and starred Pattinson as a young Bruce Wayne aka The Batman alongside Zoe Kravitz, Paul Dano, Colin Farrell, Jeffrey Wright and Andy Serkis.
The movie, which presented a standalone version of the DC superhero separate from the wider DC Universe, grossed more than $770 million worldwide.
The story was followed by HBO's "The Penguin", starring Farrell as Oswald "Oz" Cobb, which explored Gotham's criminal underworld after the events of the film.