Yesterday evening, the news broke that Black Widow and Jurassic World Rebirth star Scarlett Johansson is in final talks to join the cast of Matt Reeves' The Batman Part II.
The actress is so synonymous with the MCU that it's admittedly difficult to imagine her in the DC Universe. Still, it's one heck of a casting pick on Reeves' part, and speculation is already running rampant about who she's playing.
There have been conflicting reports about whether Johansson has been cast as a love interest or villain, but she may be playing both! According to Jeff Sneider, "She could very well be playing Bruce's new love interest, but I hear the role will ultimately be revealed as villainous in nature."
This has been interpreted as meaning Johansson's mystery character begins the movie as Bruce Wayne's girlfriend, only to eventually be revealed as the masked villain he's been facing. We say "masked" because this sounds an awful lot like Andrea Beaumont, a.k.a. Phantasm.
Time will tell on that front, but Sneider added that, "[Johansson] has played the hero a lot [and] she's ready to break bad." He also confirmed that, despite speculation to the contrary, the Avengers: Endgame star will not be playing Poison Ivy.
Rumours about Hush have persisted pretty much since 2022, and it's hard not to wonder whether Phantasm is subbing in for him. Johansson may even be playing a gender-swapped version of Tommy Elliot.
"He’s Batman, so if he doesn’t like it, not good," Reeves previously said of Robert Pattinson's reaction to The Batman 2's script. "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."
The Batman Part II will see Reeves return as director; the filmmaker wrote the script with Mattson Tomlin, who contributed to The Batman, but ultimately wasn't credited by the WGA.
Robert Pattinson, Jeffrey Wright, Andy Serkis, and Colin Farrell will reprise their respective roles as Batman, Jim Gordon, Alfred Pennyworth, and The Penguin. It's repeatedly been reported that Zoë Kravitz is not returning as Catwoman, no great surprise given that this sequel is set to take place just weeks—or, at most, a couple of months—after the events of The Batman.
Filming on The Batman Part II is scheduled to begin next Spring across England and Scotland. Luke Hull is the production designer, while Erik Messerschmidt recently boarded the movie as its cinematographer.
The Batman 2 is set to be released in theaters on October 1, 2027.