In what would be a major casting coup for Warner Bros. and DC Studios, Scarlett Johansson is believed to be in talks for a key role in Matt Reeves' The Batman sequel.
Johansson played Natasha Romanoff, aka Black Widow, in the Marvel Cinematic Universe for many years, but her tenure as the lethal former Red Room assassin came to an end when Nat was killed off in Avengers: Endgame.
Johansson did reprise the role for a Black Widow prequel movie, but - despite rumors that she may be back for Avengers: Doomsday - has never shown much interest in revisiting the character.
This doesn't mean she's completely done with superheros, however, and Nexus Point News is reporting that Johansson is in talks for an undisclosed role in The Batman - Part II.
UPDATE: THR has now confirmed that Johansson is indeed in final talks to join the cast.
NPN hears that the Jurassic World Rebirth star might be set to play a new love interest for Bruce Wayne, but Grace Randolph has since weighed-in to say she could actually play a villain.
As you might expect, there is already a lot of speculation online that Scarjo might be playing Poison Ivy, but there are obviously numerous other possibilities, including The Phantasm and Jessica Dent.
Plot details are still under wraps, but Reeves did drop a few hints about the villain Batman will be facing off against in the movie, describing the mysterious antagonist as someone who has "never really been done in a movie before." The most popular theory seems to be Tommy Elliot, but there are a number of characters who could fit the bill.
“Because of what the first movie was and what [The Batman: Part 2] is, which is so much a detective story, the idea of trying to protect the secrets of the movie is super important because it’s a mystery. That would be an extra level of heartbreak if that part of it started getting out. You wanna keep the surprise so the fans... can have the fun experience that I always love going to the movies, which was to go and be surprised,” the filmmaker said in a recent interview.
In addition to The Penguin star Colin Farrell and several others (presumably more than 5 people at this stage), Robert Pattinson has read the script - which was delivered to him in a highly secure envelope that required a separate code to open - and was said to be very happy with the story, which will seemingly take the iconic DC Comics hero in a direction we have not seen before. “
"He’s Batman, so if he doesn’t like it, not good. So, I was super excited because I thought that he really would [like it] because the things that it does for his character, for Batman, and for [Bruce Wayne] has never been done before in this way. And I had a feeling he would respond in this way, the fact that he did was incredibly encouraging,” Reeves added.
The Batman - Part II is set to hit theaters on October 1, 2027.