Is Robin finally coming to Matt Reeves’ Gotham?
A rumor relayed through one of our sources, says a reason for the delay on The Batman Part II came down to rewrites, adding Robin(s) and more Penguin and Joker.
Worth noting is that we are considering this a RUMOR at this time, as it came from a “friend of a friend” type of thing.
However, the rumor does fit.
Why The Rumor Has Room To Live
The sequel slid four months to February 18, 2028, with Warner Bros. citing more time for post-production. Recall our reporting on who actually drove the earlier delays.
The plot is under wraps, and five new cast members, Scarlett Johansson, Sebastian Stan, Charles Dance, Brian Tyree Henry, and Sebastian Koch, have zero announced roles.
Even the villain picture is publicly unsettled, with reports splitting between Stan as Harvey Dent and Stan as Victor Zsasz with Henry as Dent, and the rumors about who Johansson is really playing.
That is a lot of unnamed characters for a grounded Gotham, and exactly the kind of secrecy a Robin addition could hide inside.
This also isn’t the first time the sequel’s timeline stirred speculation, coming after James Gunn shutting down the Part III filming talk earlier this month.
It’s also not the first Robin rumor to hit this movie. Last August, James Gunn shut down a report that Robin was in the script — one that looked to trace back to Jeff Sneider — calling it “nonsense” and saying only about six people had read it. That denial is a year old, and this rumor is specifically about rewrites made since.
What Reeves Has Actually Said About Robin
In 2022, when asked whether Robin could work in his grittier Gotham, Reeves said “there might be something” in it, provided the emotional stakes are real, calling a sidekick the kind of deep dive a sequel could take.
In 2023, he debunked the secret-Robin theory about the boy from the film’s opening and the funeral scene, calling it “a cool idea” that wasn’t his intention, while joking he’d keep it in his back pocket.
And in September 2025, asked directly about Robin in the sequel: “There’s probably not any character that we didn’t talk about.”
The pattern across four years: never a no, always a door.
Penguin And Joker Already Have Hooks
Colin Farrell’s Oz is confirmed back, coming off the HBO series. Reeves has also said Sofia Falcone sits this one out, which shows how deliberately the returning roster is being chosen.
Interestingly, Farrell has gone on record stating that Penguin isn’t in this one much. Additional rewrites would explain adding more Penguin.
The rumored expansion of the Penguin’s role also follows earlier reporting on The Penguin‘s stalled status in Reeves’ Gotham, with Season 2 described as sitting in limbo and reports of series cancellations for Catwoman and Poison Ivy.
Then there’s Barry Keoghan. His scarred Arkham prisoner, the “pre-Joker Joker” in Reeves’ phrase, was introduced in the film’s ending and the released deleted scene.
Keoghan was left out of the cast posts when cameras rolled, and fans assumed he was out. Then in January, the trades confirmed his return.
So “more Penguin and Joker” is the least speculative part of the rumor. Both are already in the building. The question the rumor answers is how much.
Robin(s) Could Be Part Of The Rewrite
The most interesting part of what we heard is the wording: “Robin(s).”
Our source claims the rewrites include Robin, or possibly more than one Robin, along with expanded roles for Penguin and Joker. We don’t know what multiple Robins means, if it means Nightwing and Robin, or even a bunch of kid Robins running around.
Reeves has never ruled Robin out, and with five new cast members still playing mystery roles, there is plenty of room for the character to enter this version of Gotham.
What is also interesting is that if Reeves is indeed using a Robin or Robins, that could explain why Gunn’s own DCU version of Brave and the Bold hasn’t happened, since it is supposed to feature Damian Wayne as Robin.
Again, consider this all a big unverified rumor right now.
What’s verified is that Reeves confirmed a new Batsuit, and that the Glasgow shoot is underway, with set video showing off the battle-damaged Batmobile. That footage feeds this rumor directly, since the GCPD is shown opening fire on the Batmobile without any confirmation of who is behind the wheel.
And we’ve also been told Robert Pattinson is already in the Oscars mix for playing the bad guy in Dune 3.
The Batman: Part II has a February 18, 2028 release date. Our hub on the sequel collects the confirmed cast, the villain rumors, and every set reveal in one place.
