carlett Johansson and Sebastian Stan’s Roles Remain a Closely Guarded Secret in ‘The Batman: Part II’ According to New Reports

Superhero sequels don’t usually take six years to reach the screen, but ‘The Batman: Part II‘ has been anything but a typical production timeline. Robert Pattinson first stepped into Gotham back in 2022, and fans have spent the years since watching release dates shift and cast announcements trickle in slowly as Matt Reeves worked to build something that could top his acclaimed original.

That long wait finally gave way to actual cameras rolling this past June, when production kicked off in London with Pattinson back in the cowl opposite an expanded ensemble. Colin Farrell returns as Oz Cobb, Jeffrey Wright as Commissioner Gordon, and Andy Serkis as Alfred Pennyworth, joined by newcomers Scarlett Johansson, Sebastian Stan, Brian Tyree Henry, Charles Dance, and Sebastian Koch rounding out a genuinely stacked new cast.

What’s proving to be one of the production’s most closely held secrets, though, isn’t the plot itself but exactly who Johansson and Stan are playing. Scarlett Johansson and Sebastian Stan’s roles remain a closely guarded secret in ‘The Batman: Part II,’ according to Variety, even as fan speculation about their characters has run rampant since their casting was first announced.

Alongside the mystery surrounding his new castmates, Pattinson himself hit a personal milestone during filming, turning 40 years old while shooting the physically demanding sequel. Speaking with GQ, Pattinson described the shoot as a “marathon,” while also praising the ensemble around him as genuinely fun to work with despite the grueling pace.

That physical toll tracks with the shifting context of this particular Batman story. The original 2022 film presented Bruce Wayne as a younger, still-inexperienced vigilante finding his footing in Gotham, but the nearly six-year gap between films means Pattinson is now noticeably older tackling the same demanding stunt and fight work that defined his first outing in the role.

The secrecy around Johansson and Stan’s characters hasn’t stopped fans from building elaborate theories in the meantime. One persistent rumor suggests Stan may be playing Harvey Dent, Gotham’s district attorney who eventually becomes Two-Face in the comics, with Johansson potentially cast as his wife, Gilda Dent, though neither casting has been officially confirmed by Reeves or the studio.

Given Stan and Pattinson’s relatively close ages in real life, some fans have instead speculated Stan could be playing Tommy Elliot, the villain known as Hush, pointing to groundwork the first film and HBO’s ‘The Penguin’ laid around the Elliot family’s ties to Gotham’s criminal underworld. Without official confirmation, both theories remain squarely in speculation territory, keeping the mystery alive well into production.

With ‘The Batman: Part II’ now scheduled for a February 18, 2028 release, nearly six years after the original hit theaters, Reeves has more room than most franchise sequels get to fully realize his vision for this next chapter. Set against a wintry, flooded Gotham City, the sequel’s expanded scope and deliberately guarded plot details suggest Reeves is once again trying to avoid predictable superhero sequel territory.

Whether Johansson and Stan’s characters end up being iconic Batman villains or something entirely unexpected, the studio’s tight-lipped approach has clearly succeeded in keeping fans engaged years before the film even reaches theaters.

Have something to add? Let us know in the comments!