According to a recent production report, The Batman - Part II is expected to begin shooting on May 29 in London. Most of the main roles have now been filled, with the exception of Harvey Dent's troubled father, Christopher Dent - and it seems Warner Bros. may be having some trouble finding an actor to play him.
This is believed to be the part Brad Pitt was offered prior to Sebastian Stan being cast as Harvey Dent, aka Two Face, and we've since heard that director Matt Reeves is now searching for a slightly older actor to play Harvey's father. Stellan Skarsgård (Dune, The Avengers) is said to have turned down the offer, and a more recent rumor claimed that Daniel Craig was also offered the role.
Now, World of Reel is reporting that Craig has also declined the offer. The former 007's reasons may not necessarily have anything to do with the script or the payday, however, as he is committed to filming Damien Chazelle's untitled prison-set movie alongside Cillian Murphy and Michelle Williams, which is scheduled to begin shooting next month.
Possible spoilers ahead.
WOR has also heard that the sequel's plot "involves District Attorney Harvey Dent, Commissioner James Gordon (Jeffrey Wright), and Batman forming an uneasy alliance to bring down a serial killer and the city’s entrenched mafia power."
If you're a DC Comics fan, you'll likely be aware that this is the premise of The Long Halloween, which also influenced elements of Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight. If this is accurate, it may confirm that the mysterious second villain we've been hearing about will indeed be a version of the Holiday Killer.
Will Holiday turn out to be Scarlett Johansson's Gilda Dent, or will they go with a different character?
Reeves has previously dropped 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." There's a good chance he was referring to Johansson's character here, however.
“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.
Writer Mattson was recently asked for an update on the sequel by a fan on X.
"We worked exceptionally hard to tell a story worthy of the character. Something that feels new and dangerous. The bar couldn't be higher. Looking forward to people seeing it and being able to talk about it at length. We did our actual, literal, pushed beyond the limit best."
The Batman - Part II is set to hit theaters on October 1, 2027.
Robert Pattinson will return as Bruce Wayne/Batman, along with Jeffrey Wright as Jim Gordon, Andy Serkis as Alfred, Colin Farrell as The Penguin, and (possibly) Barry Keoghan as The Joker. Zoë Kravitz is not expected to reprise her role as Selina Kyle/Catwoman. Scarlett Johansson is believed to be playing Harvey Dent's wife, Gilda.