"Your angel of death awaits..."
One of the more surprising casting announcements to come our way in a while hit last week when the news broke that Scarlett Johansson, who was an integral part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Natasha Romanoff, aka Black Widow, for many years, is in final talks for an undisclosed role in Matt Reeves' The Batman - Part II.
Though the character the Black Widow star will play was not revealed by the trades, a few details have since slipped through. Some insiders believe she has been cast as a new love interest for Bruce Wayne, but others have heard that Johansson is actually playing a villain who may start off as Wayne's ally/lover before her more sinister side is unveiled later on.
This, along with the fact that Reeves has previously mentioned that the villain has never appeared in any live-action Batman project before, leads us to believe that the long-awaited sequel will introduce a version of Andrea Beaumont, aka The Phantasm.
Beaumont first appeared in the 1993 animated film Batman: Mask of the Phantasm, before going on to make her DC Comics debut many years later in Tom King's Batman/Catwoman 12-issue maxiseries. The Phantasm was created to be a dark (well, darker) mirror of Batman, with both characters becoming costumed vigilantes following the deaths of the parents, but only one crossing the line as a ruthless killer.
There are other possibilities, of course, but none quite fit the bill as well as Beaumont. Whoever Johansson is playing, the movie is also expected to feature a male villain (more here).
Check out some fan-art featuring Johansson as Beaumont/The Phantasm at the links below, and let us know if you think this is who she'll play in The Batman - Part II in the comments section.
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. She 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.
The Batman - Part II is set to hit theaters on October 1, 2027.