James Gunn's First Batman Movie Is Finally Releasing This Week

This week will mark James Gunn’s first Batman movie since he assumed the role of DC Studios co-CEO alongside partner Peter Safran. Since his tenure began, the Superman director has brought numerous DC characters from the comics into the spotlight, with the Green Lantern Corps the latest to receive attention through HBO Max. It’s now Batman’s turn to take center stage, and his arrival comes sooner than expected.

The new DC Studios Batman release is Batman: Knightfall Part 1: Knightfall, the R-rated animated feature adapting one of the Dark Knight’s best comic-book storylines. The film premiered at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival in France and arrives on digital platforms on August 25, 2026, with 4K UHD, Blu-ray, and DVD following on September 8. Fans can buy or rent it on Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV, Fandango, and other participating retailers. 

Part 1 follows Bane freeing Batman’s entire rogues’ gallery from Arkham Asylum, pushing the Caped Crusader to his mental and physical breaking point. Across the trilogy, Bruce Wayne’s forced absence opens the door for Jean-Paul Valley/Azrael (Pablo Schreiber) to take over the mantle and use far more brutal methods than the Dark Knight. Star Trek: Strange New Worlds star Anson Mount voices Bruce Wayne/Batman and is joined by Michael Mando as Bane.

Batman: Knightfall Part 1 is not a DCU title, but it is the first full Batman movie trilogy greenlit under Gunn’s tenure. The movie is produced by Warner Bros. Animation, DC, and Warner Bros. Home Entertainment, falling under the animation umbrella Gunn and Safran oversee. Gunn made that authority clear shortly after the pair took over DC Studios in late 2022, telling DC.com his plans to "keep moving forward" with animation:

"Some of that stuff will continue as Elseworlds, but a lot of other stuff we’re starting to bring into animation with (Warner Bros. Animation President) Sam Register so that we’ll have things that are connected with this. I think there have been a lot of really marvelous DC cartoons, so we’re going to keep moving forward with that."

Although Knightfall falls outside DCU continuity, it will still be under Gunn’s watch. Beyond it, the co-CEO has bigger Batman plans across the DC Studios umbrella.

What's Next For Batman Under DC Studios?

Batman: Knightfall is a trilogy, not a one-and-done. DC Studios will release Part 2 later this year, with the final installment confirmed for early 2027, giving James Gunn and Peter Safran a set of animated Batman movies, while fans wait for the Dark Knight's live-action return. Matt Reeves' The Batman Part II has moved from its original 2026 slot to October 1, 2027, and now to February 18, 2028. The sequel is currently filming in London, but it will be at least another year before fans see Robert Pattinson don the cape and cowl again. Aside from Pattinson, the sequel boasts star-studded additions including Scarlett Johansson, Charles Dance, Brian Tyree Henry, Sebastian Koch, and Sebastian Stan, who is widely reported to be playing Gotham D.A. Harvey Dent, a.k.a. the future Two-Face. 

The delay means nearly six years will pass between the 2022 original and its follow-up. That same year, another Batman-adjacent film, Dynamic Duo, is set for June 30, 2028. Batman is not the center of that movie, though. It focuses on Dick Grayson and Jason Todd, two characters tied to the Caped Crusader's world.

After 2028, Batman’s cinematic future under DC Studios’ stewardship looks less clear. The main continuity, the DCU, still does not have a Batman despite The Brave and the Bold being announced in January 2023, shortly after Gunn and Safran took over. Flash director Andy Muschietti remains attached to develop and direct, but the film has no cast or release date. 

Christina Hodson is writing the script, a choice that divided some DC fans because of her connection to the poorly received Flash movie, though her résumé also includes Bumblebee, Birds of Prey, and a praised unmade Batman Beyond screenplay. The Brave and the Bold's holdup stems from DC giving Reeves ample room to finish his films and not wanting the DCU Batman to compete with his movies. Muschietti’s post-Welcome to Derry availability is also another factor.

The Brave and the Bold is built around an older Bruce Wayne discovering Damian Wayne, the son he never knew he had with Talia al Ghul, Ra’s al Ghul’s daughter, a Robin raised by assassins and far more lethal than the usual kid sidekick. That gives Gunn a very different Batman from Reeves' grounded noir. The DCU iteration is a father within a larger Bat-family instead of a solitary detective in year two of his crime-fighting career. Reeves, meanwhile, has described his Pattinson films as part of a broader "Batman Crime Saga," so a third movie is likely after Part II, even if the timeline is hard to predict.