The Batman 2 update finally spills big details on Scarlett Johansson and Charles Dance's roles

Right, let’s get stuck into the latest round of rumour-mill madness swirling around The Batman 2. This has everything: big-name casting shake-ups, roles mysteriously under wraps, and even more villains for Robert Pattinson’s brooding Bruce Wayne to get angsty about. I’d say ‘surprising’ but at this point the DC universe seems to thrive on narrative curveballs.

Scarlett Johansson & Charles Dance: Not Who You Thought

There’s been a lot of talk about Scarlett Johansson supposedly signing on as Gilda Dent (aka Harvey Dent’s other half), but according to insider Jeff Sneider—who’s got a good track record with this sort of thing—that’s absolutely not happening. Charles Dance was rumoured to be Harvey’s dad. Turns out, nope to that as well.

Sneider, on his aptly named The InSneider report, says the pair are in the film, but their actual parts are being kept ‘under wraps’, which of course makes everyone ten times more curious. And here’s the eyebrow-raiser: don’t expect them to be any Batman A-listers. One of Sneider’s sources says the roles are more of a 'meld' of a few different characters, rather than ripped straight from the comics.

'My sources have opted to keep them under wraps, though one said they aren’t playing big names in the Batman universe, but more like a "meld" of different characters.'

Harvey Dent, Victor Zsasz & The Casting Shuffle

No comic-book sequel is complete without heaps of casting news getting tangled. Here’s where things get a bit daft:

• Brian Tyree Henry is now apparently taking on Harvey Dent, not Sebastian Stan. (Genuinely good actor, so I’ll take it.)
• Sebastian Stan, who was previously in the running for Dent, is now pegged as Victor Zsasz—the DC supervillain who keeps tally marks for his murders. Just your standard Gotham career path, really.
• Scarlett Johansson and Charles Dance? Still a mystery, but anyone betting on those classic character names should probably tear up their slips.

Stacking Even More Villains: The Court of Owls

Apparently, the sequel isn’t content with a couple of bad guys. Sneider also swears the Court of Owls are in as well—if you’re not knee-deep in Batman lore, that’s the shadowy Gotham outfit controlling the city from behind the scenes for centuries. They use an army of undead assassins called Talons. Frankly, if you think Bruce’s mental health was wobbly before...

'The group is an ancient secret society of criminals that includes some of Gotham City’s oldest and wealthiest families, who have controlled Gotham from the shadows for centuries, and enforce their will using a group of deadly assassins known as Talons.'

If that’s not enough new threads, I don’t know what is. Obviously, caution never goes amiss—none of this is official until the studio starts splashing out with PR. But the stage is looking crowded, even by Gotham standards.

The Batman 2 is landing in cinemas 1 October 2027. All we can do is wait—and enjoy the absurdity of the rumour cycle in the meantime.