UPDATE: The Hollywood Reporter has just shared the following update on Pitt, writing, "This one has been in the ether for months, and we looked into it. Sadly, sources close to the production say no, Pitt will not be in the movie, which we are told is now aiming to shoot in May."
The Batman: Part II recently cast Avengers: Endgame star Scarlett Johansson in a mystery role, with it widely reported that she's being eyed for either a love interest, villain, or perhaps both. In other words, the character will likely romance Bruce Wayne before being outed as a baddie.
Today, World of Reel is reporting that filmmaker Matt Reeves is looking to cast two middle-aged male roles, both of whom are described as antagonists. For those of you questioning the source, bear in mind that not one, but two fan sites beat the trades to reporting Johansson's casting.
The site has also backed up rumours that F1: The Movie star Brad Pitt is being sought for one of these villains, something scooper @MyTimeToShineH first hinted at on social media earlier this month.
Reeves is clearly looking to cast big names in The Batman sequel. Whether his Pitt hopes pan out remains to be seen, though the more interesting question is who these characters could be.
Jeff Sneider has previously shared rumblings about Dr. Jeremiah Arkham appearing in The Batman: Part II, so we can, for now, assume that covers at least one of these mystery antagonists. Unsurprisingly, there's already speculation that Hush could be the other big bad, though that's very much TBD, seeing as Johansson playing a Hush/Phantasm hybrid is currently the most popular theory among fans.
Throw in other popular possibilities like Mr. Freeze, Dr. Hugo Strange, and the Court of Owls, and this latest rumour serves as a reminder of how little we actually know about this long-awaited follow-up to The Batman.
If Tommy Elliot and Hush do appear, then Reeves may be planning to keep audiences guessing about who is beneath his bandaged mask, only to eventually reveal that it's Johansson's character. In the comics, The Riddler was a key part of Hush's story, with it ultimately revealed that he'd been pulling the strings from within Arkham.
That movie ended by setting the stage for what sounded like a team-up with The Joker and The Riddler, though many fans at the time expressed disappointment about Reeves potentially focusing on two villains who have received a lot of screentime over the years. The Clown Prince of Crime taking centre stage in The Batman: Part II also feels very reminiscent of The Dark Knight in 2008.
"[In] a lot of the other films, which I love, once you get past the origin tale, which we didn’t quite do, but we did something that referred to his origins, then you start telling the Rogues Gallery story and that character’s sort of arch," Reeves said earlier this year. "But I never wanted to lose [Robert Pattinson] at the center of these stories, and so that is really what we set our aim on."
Explaining that his decision to focus more on Bruce Wayne (and Batman) inspired his choice of villain/s, the filmmaker later confirmed the sequel's antagonist has "never really been done in a movie before."
Directed by Matt Reeves from a script by him and Mattson Tomlin, The Batman: Part II stars Robert Pattinson, Scarlett Johansson, Colin Farrell, Andy Serkis, and Jeffrey Wright.
The Batman Part II is set to be released in theaters on October 1, 2027.