Scarlett Johansson Says ‘The Batman Part II’ Rattled Her More Than ‘The Exorcist: Martyrs’

Scarlett Johansson has spent the past few years collecting franchises the way her old Marvel foe Thanos collected Infinity Stones. Following her years as Black Widow, the 2-time Oscar nominee helped power ‘Jurassic World Rebirth’ to more than $800 million at the box office, then lined up two more major projects back to back. One is a bold reboot of a horror classic, and the other is a leap across the aisle to DC.

Those two films could hardly be more different. ‘The Exorcist: Martyrs‘ puts her at the center of a supernatural crime thriller from Mike Flanagan, while ‘The Batman Part II’ drops her into Matt Reeves’ dark and tightly guarded version of Gotham City. That contrast made one question almost impossible to resist for interviewers and fans alike, and now she has finally answered it.

In an interview with Entertainment Tonight published on Wednesday, Johansson was asked which of the 2 roles took her furthest outside her comfort zone. The demon-haunted horror film seemed like the obvious answer, but she immediately picked the Batman sequel instead.

She said the part left her with a heavy dose of existential angst and that it was very hard to figure out. Johansson admitted she was not sure why, wondering whether the role itself or simply where she is in her life was to blame, but she described it as a tough job in a lot of ways.

For an actress with years of experience across blockbusters and indie dramas, including her directorial debut ‘Eleanor the Great’, the candor is striking. It also adds another layer of mystery to a character that Warner Bros. and DC Studios have yet to officially reveal.

Reeves confirmed in May that Johansson had joined the cast, though he shared no details about who she is playing. Reports and rumors have pointed toward Gilda Dent, the wife of Harvey Dent, with Sebastian Stan, another former Marvel colleague, linked to the role of Harvey himself. Neither DC Studios nor Warner Bros. has confirmed those theories.

The sequel also brings back Robert Pattinson as Bruce Wayne, along with Jeffrey Wright, Andy Serkis and Colin Farrell. Newcomers include Brian Tyree Henry and Sebastian Koch, while Charles Dance is reportedly playing Harvey’s father.

Production has faced some turbulence. Reeves stepped away from the project indefinitely because of a family matter, and Steven Soderbergh is helping direct the remainder of principal photography on his behalf. The film is now slated for release in February 2028, according to recent reports, and its predecessor grossed $772 million worldwide.

Official trailer for The Exorcist: Martrys In theaters March 12, 2027 https://t.co/m5ZtwDT5Hx

— ScreenTime (@screentime) October 23, 2026

Johansson’s horror outing arrives first, hitting theaters on March 12, 2027 from Universal. She plays NYPD homicide detective Julie Miller, who became a hero after ending the reign of a satanic serial killer known as Father Sunday. Thirteen years later, a new killer writes her name in blood inside a church crypt and drags her back into the darkness she thought she had buried.

Flanagan wrote and directed the film, which is not a sequel to ‘The Exorcist: Believer’. He has teased it as the scariest project he has made in his career, a bold claim from the creator of ‘The Haunting of Hill House’.

The cast includes Chiwetel Ejiofor, Diane Lane, Jacobi Jupe, Laurence Fishburne and John Leguizamo, who plays Father Sunday. Universal reportedly paid $400 million for the rights to a new ‘Exorcist’ trilogy in 2021, so the stakes for this fresh start are high.

Johansson’s comments suggest that her Gotham character demands something unfamiliar from her, even after years inside the superhero world. Whether that means a darker, stranger or more emotionally complicated role than anything she has played before remains to be seen.

For now, fans will have to wait for official word on who she is playing, and the long production road, with its changes behind the camera, only adds to the anticipation surrounding this mysterious Gotham newcomer.

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