9 Best Theories About The Batman 2’s Villains, Ranked by How Much We Want Them To Be True

The Batman: Part II is now filming, and the hype for the sequel is already higher than we’ve ever seen for a Batman movie. One part of that is because there has been a four-year wait between the release of The Batman (2022) and the start of filming on The Batman 2; the other reason is that Matt Reeves and DC Studios heads James Gunn and Peter Safran have all been dropping just the right kind of teases about what the sequel is even about.

That hasn’t stopped the rumor mill from churning about what we’re getting with The Batman: Part II, and the theories go from a grounded socio-political mystery-thriller to a full-on sci-fi or creature-feature film. Here’s what we’ve heard, ranked by how likely we are to see it happen in the film.

9. The Penguin Will Get Clipped

The recent news that HBO Max isn’t doing The Penguin Season 2 has set off some alarm bells in The Batman fandom. Now, no one is all that sure that Oz Cobb is going to make it out of The Batman: Part II alive.

Let’s be clear: NO ONE WANTS THIS. That’s why it’s at the bottom of this list. The only person we see voting for it is Colin Farrell himself. He’s probably tired of putting on all that makeup.

8. Man-Bat Is One of The Villains

We have to imagine that this rumor is one that not many fans are in support of, as it doesn’t seem to fit the style of Matt Reeves’ universe. Man-Bat is a werewolf-style villain, a scientist named Dr. Kurt Langstrom who develops a bat-based serum as a medical cure, only to have it transform him into a human-bat hybrid monster.

When Matt Reeves announced actor Brian Tyree Henry as part of The Batman: Part II cast, he did it with an image of the actor flapping his arms. Some fans took that as a “hint” that Reeves was going to be telling a Man-Bat story. Let’s just say, we’re not that convinced that’s the case, especially with the new rumors stating that Henry is playing Harvey Dent.

7. Two-Face Is Back (Again)

Two-Face has appeared in every major era of Batman films and TV shows, and rumors have been swirling that Matt Reeves’ universe will be no different. For a few weeks, it seemed as though Marvel Cinematic Universe star Sebastian Stan had been “confirmed” to be playing Harvey Dent, with the actor seeming to indicate that he would get prosthetics and makeup work that fans took as confirmation that Two-Face would get his arc in The Batman: Part II.

Well, Two-Face has been done and done and done again. Fans seem to be okay with the notion of either Stan or Brian Tyree Henry playing Harvey Dent, but we can take a lesson from Tim Burton and end it there. We don’t need Two-Face, too soon. Christopher Nolan taught us that.

6. Sebastian Stan Is A Killer Addition

Thanks to some reporting on a red carpet quote, the world became convinced that Sebastian Stan is Harvey Dent/Two-Face in The Batman: Part II. However, new reporting suggests that the actor is actually going to play notorious Gotham serial killer, Victor Zsasz.

Thanks to Batman movies (Batman Begins), TV shows (Gotham) and other media, Zsasz has become a minor celebrity in the Batman universe. So while we worry Stan’s role would only be a minor one, we are kind of hoping to see Bucky cut loose and get truly scary (see also: Hulu’s Fresh).

5. The Iceman Will Cometh

The first camera test image that Matt Reeves shared from The Batman: Part II set featured the Batmobile driving down a Gotham City street on a snowy night. A lot of fans instantly jumped to the conclusion that Mr. Freeze was going to be the villain of The Batman: Part II.

At one point, it might have seemed like someone in The Batman: Part II cast was playing Freeze; Game of Thrones actor Charles Dance certainly looks like he would be perfect in the role. But as cameras start rolling, that possibility is looking much more questionable. Still, a Matt Reeves take on Mr. Freeze is something a lot of fans would be interested in, after seeing what he did with a character like The Riddler. So we’re not giving up hope.

4. Joker’s Wild

Actor Barry Keoghan wasn’t nearly as famous when The Batman hit theaters as he is today, so it’s understandable that Matt Reeves only gave him a minor cameo role (mostly offscreen) as The Joker. However, a deleted scene released after the film’s theatrical run showed a classic Batman and Joker “Interrogation Scene” that confirmed how freaky and talented Keoghan was in the role. Combined with his fame and accolades (including an Oscar nomination) it got harder and harder to look at Keoghan as a stand-in for The Joker, instead of the man who currently owns the role.

Rumor has it that Barry Keoghan’s Joker will have a bigger role to play in The Batman: Part II. A lot of fans are behind that idea, if only to get to see what the full-fledged Joker character is about

3. Scarlett Johansson is Playing One of The Greatest Batman Villains Ever

The world has settled on the idea of Scarlett Johansson playing Harvey Dent’s wife, Gilda Dent, but earlier rumors had a different theory. Andrea Beaumont made her debut in one of the greatest Batman movies ever, Batman: Mask of the Phantasm (1993). The film revealed how Andrea and Bruce Wayne fell in love and almost married as young adults, before their respective family tragedies sent them down very similar, but ultimately very different, paths. Bruce chose to become the righteous crimefighter, Batman; as “Phantasm,” Andrea donned her own Grim Reaper-style costume (complete with a scythe blade on one hand), and set out to exact vengeance against the Gotham mobsters who murdered her father.

Whether or not ScarJo is actually playing Gilda Dent, many fans are hoping she will also be playing the live-action version of Phantasm. There’s ample room to blend the characters of Gilda Dent and Andrea Beaumont, since both ladies have a secret habit of dressing up and going on murder sprees.

2. Part II Will Set Up A Third Film (That’s Coming Soon)

If Matt Reeves is really being given the runway to finish his vision of Batman before the DCU takes over, then rumor has it DC Studios James Gunn and Peter Safran are letting him end it right. Word has it that The Batman: Part II will actually end on a massive cliffhanger that sets up The Batman: Part III. Additional rumors have stated that while they may not get filmed back-to-back, Part II and Part III will both be produced in a much quicker time window than the half-decade between Part I and Part II‘s theatrical release.

A lot of fans are quietly hoping that’s the case. There are certain elements (like Harvey Dent/Two-Face) that fans want to see developed over more than one film, as well as getting the cathartic completion of a full trilogy, as opposed to a two-film story. The only loss of points here is that a lot of fans also believe we could get another four years between Part II and Part III, to allow the DCU Batman to cook.

1. The Court of Owls Are the Big Bads

The end of The Batman saw Riddler turn Gotham into a no-man’s land after flooding the city in a brazen terrorist attack. Batman learned that his heroism must include inspiring Gothamites in dark times of calamity, but rumors quickly started swirling that Matt Reeves already had the vision for where the sequel was going: to court.

The Court of Owls is a clandestine cabal that made their debut in the 2010s Batman comics. The established lore has it that the Court of Owls is like Gotham’s personal Illuminati, a collection of rich and powerful Gotham figures, who have controlled the city’s development and status quo since Gotham was established. They wear avian-inspired masks to conceal their identities, and have access to an entire ‘secret city’ built within the hidden spaces of Gotham. The court maintains order and carries out its will using “Talons,” highly skilled and deadly assassins. Given their elitist membership and long history of nested secrets, the group is often as much a threat to “Bruce Wayne” as they are to Batman.

Most fans are hoping that the Court of Owls is indeed the “big bad” of The Batman: Part II. It’s an organization that can be adapted several ways for the screen without the flamboyant theatrics of the comics, and still make for an excellent mystery-espionage story full of big twists and reveals, but set within a superhero world. We’re here for it.

The Batman: Part II will be released in theaters on October 1, 2027. Discuss the DCU with us on the ComicBook Forum!

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