It’s official: principal photography on The Batman: Part II is underway, as director Matt Reeves posted the first shot from behind the camera on Friday, which teases more than just the start of filming.
Reeves shared an image of the production slate on X with the hashtags #FirstShot and #TheBatmanPart2, along with a simple “Here We Go…” — tagging cinematographer Erik Messerschmidt.
The slate confirms Roll A1, Scene 26, Take 1, with the red Bat-symbol from the first film front and center and “Part II” printed beneath it. The camera readout shows the movie shooting in 6.5K RAW at 24fps.
However, there’s more to the picture.
What’s In The Background Of The First Shot?
Here’s the detail worth zooming in on: behind the clapperboard, the out-of-focus background appears to show a figure laid out on a table under a hard overhead light, which looks an awful lot like a body on a slab.
Nothing is confirmed, but if Scene 26 takes place in a morgue or at a crime scene, that tells you everything about where Reeves’ head is at.
The Batman opened with the Riddler’s murder of Mayor Mitchell and built its entire spine on a serial-killer detective story. A corpse in the very first shot of Part II suggests the sequel is doubling down on the noir murder mystery rather than pivoting to a standard superhero sequel.
It also fits the casting. As we covered, Sebastian Stan has all but confirmed Harvey Dent’s Two-Face turn, saying he’ll play “many roles” in the film, and Gotham’s District Attorney tends to show up wherever the bodies do.
UPDATE: That opening body just got more interesting, as a fresh rumor recasts the sequel’s villains, claiming Sebastian Stan is Victor Zsasz and Brian Tyree Henry is Harvey Dent/Two-Face.
The Part II teases keep coming, with a new official logo and Jim Gordon first look arriving alongside a Matt Reeves set photo that has fans hunting for a hidden Detective Comics clue.
Wasn’t The Batman: Part II Already Filming?
Sharp-eyed fans will remember that set footage already surfaced out of Liverpool three weeks ago, showing Gotham Police cruisers, camera rigs, and Robert Pattinson’s stunt double riding on top of a cop car at the Queensway Tunnel.
That was the second unit; the stunt and action team shooting the tunnel chase sequence ahead of the main shoot, which is why fans saw a stunt double and vehicle rigs but no principal cast and no Reeves.
Friday’s slate is different: it carries Reeves’ and Messerschmidt’s names, and Roll 1, Take 1 marks day one of principal photography, with the director officially behind the camera.
It also lines up with Colin Farrell saying in a new interview this week that production starts “in a week” (more on that below).
Erik Messerschmidt Confirmed Behind The Camera
The slate also makes something else official: Erik Messerschmidt is the cinematographer is shooting the movie.
Messerschmidt is the Oscar-winning cinematographer behind David Fincher’s Mank, who also shot The Killer and Ferrari, taking over from Greig Fraser, who lensed the first film.
That’s a significant handoff. Fraser’s rain-soaked, sodium-lit Gotham defined the look of The Batman, so all eyes are on whether Messerschmidt carries that aesthetic forward or puts his own colder, more controlled Fincher-style stamp on the sequel.
Given Reeves is going even darker — the film is set during winter in Gotham — Messerschmidt seems like the right fit on paper.
Colin Farrell Says Penguin’s Role Is Small
The first shot also lands alongside a new update from Colin Farrell, who told Collider that production starts within a week — matching Reeves’ post — and that he flies to London in four or five weeks to shoot his scenes as Oz Cobb. Fans should also temper expectations for how much Penguin is in this one.
“I haven’t got much to do on it,” Farrell admitted, while adding he’s excited to see the film as a fan and once again praising Reeves’ script as extraordinary.
That lines up with what Farrell has said before — he previously revealed he only has a handful of scenes in the sequel — and with Reeves’ stated focus on Bruce Wayne’s journey rather than another tour of the rogues’ gallery.
It also conveniently keeps the door open for The Penguin Season 2, where Oz’s story has the room the movie apparently won’t give it.
Jeff Sneider also further claims The Penguin Season 2 is not happening.
A Brutal Shoot Ahead
Don’t expect this to be an easy production. Robert Pattinson already teased the shoot involves “11 weeks of nights”, with the actor back in training for the Batsuit, so Reeves is once again living in Gotham after dark.
Filming kicking off now also gives Warner Bros. a badly needed Batman win, as the studio’s recent Bat-headlines have been about suing a YouTuber over buried Batman reviews rather than anything happening on a set.
The Batman: Part II stars Robert Pattinson, Colin Farrell, Jeffrey Wright, Andy Serkis, Sebastian Stan, and Scarlett Johansson, with Charles Dance reportedly playing Charles Dent. Matt Reeves directs from a script he co-wrote with Mattson Tomlin.
The Batman: Part II hits theaters October 1, 2027.
