Fans are often told that they "have no idea what to expect" from a major comic book movie in the buildup to its release, but in The Batman - Part II's case, it might just be true.
Earlier today, videos from the set of Matt Reeves' sequel showed Bruce Wayne (Robert Pattinson himself has now been spotted) being escorted from the courthouse while protestors surrounded the steps.
Some of the signs being held up said: “Court of Fowls, I'm coming for you next, Your Greed is Killing Us, Oligarchs gotta go, The richer get richer, Eat the rich, One day the poor will have nothing," and "Re$i$t.”
It now seems like a pretty safe bet that the Court of Owls will be introduced, but a new set photo hints at the involvement of a villain that has not previously been rumored: Anarky.
Introduced in the pages of Detective Comics in the late ' 80s, Lonnie Machin was a highly intelligent and ruthless teenager who became a political activist with contempt for all governments and corporations. As his actions became more extreme, he adopted the alias Anarky and soon crossed paths with the Dark Knight.
The guy in the photo below certainly looks a lot like Anarky, but it may simply turn out to be an Easter egg and not Machin himself.
Sebastian Stan is believed to be playing the movie's main villain, and the Fjord star was asked about the Harvey Dent rumors during a recent interview.
"Look, there’s no way to keep any secret anymore. What I’ll say is this: there’s no way people will fully grasp how this movie is until they see it. I go to set sometimes and I look around and I’m like, I think we’re making [frick]ing The Godfather Part Two. I feel that highly about it. Matt has spent three years working on it. There’s a lot of speculation about these roles, about what this movie is, but I think it’s going to be a good payoff — it’s really grounded and real, and that’s what I loved about it. You want to tease it a little, but we still have a long time."
When Stan's casting was announced, the trades indicated that he would play Dent/Two-Face, but this was never confirmed, and rumors later circulated that he'd actually been cast as deranged serial killer Victor Zsasz.
As for Scarlett Johansson, there are rumors that she will play a version of Poison Ivy. A blonde woman many believe to be the actress' stunt double was recently spotted riding shotgun in the Batmobile.
Earlier this year, Reeves officially announced the movie's main cast on social media.
The filmmaker confirmed that Robert Pattinson (Bruce Wayne/Batman), Jeffrey Wright (Jim Gordon), Andy Serkis (Alfred Pennyworth), Colin Farrell (Oz Cobb/The Penguin), Jayme Lawson (Bella Réal) and Gil Perez-Abraham (Officer Martinez) will reprise their roles, alongside new cast members Scarlett Johansson, Sebastian Stan, Charles Dance, Sebastian Koch and Brian Tyree Henry.
Reeves did not reveal the characters Gotham City's new additions will play.
After several previous delays, The Batman - Part II was scheduled to arrive in theaters on October 1, 2027, but was recently pushed back to February 18, 2028.