Alejandro González Iñárritu and Tom Cruise are set to make a significant mark on the fall 2026 movie season. Their highly anticipated untitled feature will debut on October 2, 2026, as announced by Warner Bros. on Friday.
This release date was previously held by Matt Reeves’ sequel to The Batman, which is now scheduled for October 1, 2027.
Initially referred to as The Batman: Part II, the DC Studios film has experienced several shifts in its timeline since its announcement in 2022. Production is now slated to begin in the third quarter of 2025, as Reeves continues to meticulously refine the script.
“Matt is committed to making the best film he possibly can, and no one can accurately guess exactly how long a script will take to write,” DC Studios co-chief James Gunn. “Once there is a finished script, there is around two years for pre-production, shooting, and post-production on big films.”
Though Reeves’ The Batman sequel falls outside the DC universe currently being shaped by Gunn and Peter Safran, both are involved in overseeing the project.
In related scheduling news, Robert Pattinson, who stars in The Batman, will see his upcoming collaboration with Bong Joon Ho, Mickey 17, swap release dates with Ryan Coogler’s Sinners, featuring Michael B. Jordan.
The Batman Movie Sequel (Photo: Warner Bros)
Mickey 17 is now set to open on March 7, 2025, while Sinners will arrive on April 18, 2025. Insiders attribute the delay in Sinners to Coogler’s commitment to shooting on film, which has been impacted by the limited availability of production and post-production labs.
Cruise and Iñárritu’s untitled project, produced by Warner Bros. and Legendary, marks Iñárritu’s return to English-language cinema after his 2015 success with The Revenant, which starred Leonardo DiCaprio. This film also represents the first project under Cruise’s new deal with Warner Bros.
The story centers on Cruise’s character, described as the most powerful man in the world, as he embarks on a desperate mission to prove himself humanity’s savior before a catastrophic disaster of his own making devastates everything.
Iñárritu is directing the film, working from a script he co-wrote with Sabina Berman, Alexander Dinelaris, and Nicolás Giacobone. Legendary’s Mary Parent joins Iñárritu and Cruise as a producer.
The star-studded cast includes Sandra Hüller, John Goodman, Michael Stuhlbarg, Jesse Plemons, Sophie Wilde, and Riz Ahmed, adding to the anticipation surrounding the project.
With these shifting schedules and high-profile collaborations, 2026 and 2027 are shaping up to be landmark years for cinema. Fans eagerly await the cinematic offerings from Iñárritu, Cruise, Reeves, Pattinson, and others as the race to the fall movie season heats up.
