With Greig Fraser busy working on Sam Mendes' four (yes, four) Beatles biopics, filmmaker Matt Reeves has found a new cinematographer for The Batman Part II.
Erik Messerschmidt will serve as the sequel's director of photography and is best known for his collaborations with David Fincher. They worked together on Mindhunter, The Killer, and Mank, with the latter earning Messerschmidt an Academy Award for Best Cinematography.
His other credits include Ferrari, Legion, Fargo, Raised by Wolves, and Dope Thief, as well as a now-resurfaced commercial for Oculus Studios' VR Game, Batman: Arkham Shadow.
Yes, Messerschmidt is no stranger to the Dark Knight, and the ad offers a possible idea of what to expect from his take on The Batman Part II.
Heavy on action, the promo plays with shadow and delivers a moody, black and white take on Gotham City. It's great, and it will be interesting to see whether the DP makes use of these tricks for Reeves' Batman sequel. How much Messerschmidt's brief run-in with Batman factored into Reeves' decision to hire him isn't clear, but we're sure it didn't hurt.
You can rewatch this promo for Batman: Arkham Shadow in the player below.
"We haven't talked about anything like that," Reeves previously said of potentially bringing The Batman franchise into James Gunn's DCU. "We have had conversations about how things could work and all that kind of stuff, just in general. So, of course, it would be a lot of fun. What I really want to do is play out these stories that we began and arrive at the conclusion I've hoped we would arrive at from the beginning. It's very exciting."
"First of all, I'm flattered. That's very kind of James to say. It would be really exciting to work with them, of course. We're working with them on [The Batman Part II]," the filmmaker continued. "I mean, it's a DC, so, like, it's Elseworld, but it is DC, so it's theirs as well. What the future brings and what I am doing will become clear when it comes."
Beyond the return of key cast members Robert Pattinson, Andy Serkis, Jeffrey Wright, and Colin Farrell, little to nothing is known about what's in store for us in The Batman sequel.
Hush, Hugo Strange, and The Court of Owls rank among the most popular suggestions from fans, and it's not outside the realm of possibility that we'll see more of The Joker and The Riddler after their chance Arkham meeting in The Batman.
The Batman 2 is set to be released in theaters on October 1, 2027.