• Paul Dano says he hopes to return as The Riddler in The Batman Part 2 but is not confirmed
• Barry Keoghan’s Joker and Zoë Kravitz’s Catwoman are also unconfirmed for the sequel
• Scarlett Johansson, Sebastian Stan, and Brian Tyree Henry are newly confirmed cast members
• A new rumor suggests Sebastian Stan may not actually be playing Harvey Dent
• The Batman Part 2 is scheduled for theaters on October 1, 2027

Paul Dano wants back in — but he’s not sure it’s happening. The actor, who played The Riddler in Matt Reeves’ The Batman back in 2022, is giving fans a cautiously hopeful update about his chances of returning for The Batman Part 2.

In a recent interview with Collider, Dano stopped well short of confirming a comeback. “Matt is so caring and obsessive in bringing such a point of view to that film, and I think he is going to again,” he said. “I could not be more excited to see what he does, and I hope maybe I’ll get to dance again.”

“Hope maybe” isn’t exactly a green light. But it’s not a door slammed shut either — and for fans who consider Dano’s unhinged, meticulous Riddler one of the best comic book villain performances in years, that’s enough to hold onto.

Who’s In, Who’s Out, and Who’s a Mystery

Dano joins a growing list of beloved cast members whose futures in the sequel are officially up in the air. Barry Keoghan’s Joker — teased in that now-legendary deleted scene with Batman at the end of the first film — hasn’t been confirmed either, despite the fact that fans have been clamoring for more of his eerie, unpredictable take on the character. Same goes for Zoë Kravitz’s Catwoman, whose chemistry with Robert Pattinson’s Batman was one of the emotional cores of the original.

There’s one absence that’s already been locked in: Cristin Milioti will not be returning as Sofia Falcone. Reeves confirmed it himself, which stings a little given that Milioti won an Emmy for Best Lead Actress in a Limited Series for her work in HBO Max’s The Penguin. That show made her a fan favorite, and losing her from the universe entirely feels like a missed opportunity.

On the confirmed side, the returning core is solid. Robert Pattinson is back as Bruce Wayne, Jeffrey Wright returns as Commissioner Gordon, Andy Serkis is back as Alfred, Colin Farrell reprises The Penguin, and Jayme Lawson and Gil Perez-Abraham are back as Mayor Bella Reál and GCPD officer Martinez, respectively.

The new additions are genuinely exciting. Scarlett Johansson and Sebastian Stan — both fresh off major Marvel projects in Jurassic World Rebirth and Thunderbolts* — are reportedly playing Gilda and Harvey Dent. Brian Tyree Henry (Atlanta, Eternals) has also signed on, though his role hasn’t been disclosed. Charles Dance of Game of Thrones fame is rumored to be playing a character named Christopher Dent, and Bridge of Spies actor Sebastian Koch rounds out the new additions. The sequel is set to begin production in England next month, with the story reportedly taking place during the winter season.

The Sebastian Stan Twist Nobody Saw Coming

Here’s where things get interesting. Even as fans were still processing the Harvey Dent casting news, scooper Jeff Sneider dropped a wrinkle on a recent podcast appearance with John Rocha. He claims he received an email suggesting Stan may not actually be playing Harvey Dent at all.

“I got an email this week. It was a f***ing crazy email,” Sneider said. “It said that someone else is playing Harvey Dent. And it said that Sebastian Stan was playing another villain and that Charles Dance is actually playing Scarlett Johansson’s father.” He was quick to add that his words need “to be taken with a huge grain of salt” — and that Reeves not confirming any specific role details makes him wonder if “there’s some sort of bait and switch going on.”

https://youtube.com/watch?v=n1IpopjJi48%3Fstart%3D1639

Stan himself has been characteristically measured about the whole thing. Speaking to Deadline, he called the project “a challenge” and said, “I feel like it’s a really ambitious movie, and I think if we do it all right… I really think it’s going to blow people away. It’s going to surprise a lot of people, I think, too.”

Surprise a lot of people. Given what Sneider is hearing, that might be the most honest thing anyone has said about The Batman Part 2 yet.

The film hits theaters October 1, 2027. Whether Dano gets to “dance again” — and who Sebastian Stan is actually playing — we’ll find out soon enough.

The post Paul Dano Unsure About Returning as Riddler in The Batman 2 appeared first on Cream.

• Matt Reeves confirmed Scarlett Johansson is joining The Batman: Part II as Gilda Dent via a haunting GIF on X
• Sebastian Stan will play Harvey Dent, the DA who becomes Two-Face, and says the film will “surprise a lot of people”
• Six returning cast members were also confirmed: Pattinson, Wright, Serkis, Farrell, Lawson, and Perez-Abraham
• The full ensemble now includes Charles Dance, Barry Keoghan, and Jeffrey Wright alongside the new additions
• The Batman: Part II is set for release on October 1, 2027, with production now underway in London

Matt Reeves is done keeping secrets. After years of near-silence on The Batman: Part II, the director has spent the last few days turning his X account into a casting announcement machine — and the biggest names he’s dropped so far are Scarlett Johansson and Sebastian Stan.

Reeves kicked things off by posting a moody GIF of Johansson from her 2013 sci-fi thriller Under the Skin, her face reflected in a car’s rearview mirror as shadows fall across her and blurred lights streak past. The caption: “Next exit, Gotham… Welcome.” It’s spare, atmospheric, and very on-brand for the filmmaker who turned Gotham City into a rain-soaked fever dream in 2022. The GIF didn’t name her character, but multiple outlets have confirmed Johansson will play Gilda Dent — wife of District Attorney Harvey Dent and a character with deep roots in Batman lore.

https://x.com/mattreevesLA/status/2054961650416189704

Stan’s welcome came shortly after, with Reeves confirming the Thunderbolts* star is in a “Gotham state of mind.” He’ll play Harvey Dent himself — the idealistic DA whose tragic transformation into the coin-flipping villain Two-Face is one of the most iconic arcs in the Batman universe. The last time we saw Dent on the big screen was Aaron Eckhart’s version in Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight back in 2008. Stan’s take promises to be something different.

Speaking to Deadline from the Cannes Film Festival, where he’s promoting his film Fjord, Stan didn’t hold back on his excitement. “It’s going to blow people away. It’s going to surprise a lot of people, I think, too,” he said. He called the film “a really ambitious movie” and a “challenge, like everything else,” adding that working with Reeves has been a long-held dream. “He’s been one of my favorites for a long, long time.”

Who Is Gilda Dent — and Why Does She Matter?

For casual fans, Gilda Dent might be a new name. For comics readers, she’s anything but. In Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale’s beloved Batman: The Long Halloween — widely considered one of the greatest Batman stories ever told — Gilda is at the center of Harvey’s world as Gotham starts to crumble around him. She watches her husband get pulled deeper into the city’s darkness, and her own role in the story takes a turn that reframes everything. Reeves has mined The Long Halloween before; the first film borrowed its serial-killer-mystery structure directly from that source material. Going deeper into Gilda’s story for the sequel feels like a natural, and potentially devastating, extension of that.

Johansson, who spent over a decade in the MCU as Black Widow, was first reported to be in final negotiations for the role back in December. She was expected to complete work on The Exorcist before heading to the Batman set. Now it’s official.

Charles Dance rounds out the Dent family as Christopher Dent, Harvey’s father — a casting detail that adds another layer of intrigue to what’s shaping up to be a very family-focused sequel.

The Full Cast Is Taking Shape

The day before the Johansson and Stan reveals, Reeves had already been busy — posting GIFs to confirm six returning cast members. Robert Pattinson is back as Bruce Wayne/Batman, Jeffrey Wright returns as Jim Gordon, Andy Serkis is back as Alfred (who took quite the beating in the first film), and Colin Farrell reprises Oz Cobb/The Penguin, fresh off his acclaimed run in HBO’s The Penguin series. Rounding out the returning players are Jayme Lawson as mayor Bella Réal and Gil Perez-Abraham as Officer Martinez — two characters whose returns will have fans of the first film quietly pumped.

Barry Keoghan is also expected to return as The Joker, though Reeves hasn’t officially posted his confirmation yet.

The full confirmed cast now stands at: Robert Pattinson, Scarlett Johansson, Sebastian Stan, Colin Farrell, Andy Serkis, Jeffrey Wright, Charles Dance, Barry Keoghan, Jayme Lawson, and Gil Perez-Abraham. The script, co-written by Reeves and Mattson Tomlin, is being kept tightly under wraps.

What We Know (and What We’re Guessing) About the Story

Plot details are locked down hard, but the casting itself tells a story. Reports suggest the film will center on Batman, Harvey Dent, and Commissioner Gordon forming an uneasy alliance to hunt a serial killer while also taking on Gotham’s entrenched crime families — a structure that draws heavily from The Long Halloween. Two-Face, Hush, a Holiday Killer, and Phantasm have all been floated as potential villains. The film’s working title, “Semper Vigilans,” has also set off speculation about the Court of Owls entering the picture.

Then there’s Pattinson, who told an interviewer earlier this year that the sequel will be a “really different type of Batman movie” — which is saying something, given how different the first one already was. “The script is so good,” he said. “Hopefully, people will be really pleasantly surprised by it.”

Reeves recently confirmed the film has a wintery setting — that snowy Batmobile photo that broke the internet a few weeks ago wasn’t just aesthetic flex — which has some corners of the fandom whispering about Mr. Freeze. Whether that pans out or not, the vibe is clear: Reeves is building something colder, darker, and more complicated than what came before.

Production is now officially underway in London. The Batman: Part II opens in theaters on October 1, 2027. And if Sebastian Stan’s confidence is any indicator, the wait is going to be worth it.

The post The Batman: Part II Confirms Johansson, Stan and More appeared first on Cream.

• Sebastian Stan has officially started training for his role in The Batman: Part 2, per a new video from his trainer
• Stan is widely reported to be playing Harvey Dent / Two-Face in Matt Reeves’ sequel
• Personal trainer Jason Walsh shared the clip, calling Stan “one of the kindest clients we’ve ever had”
• Robert Pattinson, Scarlett Johansson, Colin Farrell, and Charles Dance are also in the cast
• The film is set for a US release on October 1, 2027

Sebastian Stan is putting in the work. A new video from his personal trainer confirms that the Avengers: Doomsday star has begun training for The Batman: Part 2 — and based on what we can already see, Harvey Dent is going to be absolutely jacked.

The clip, shared by trainer Jason Walsh on Instagram, shows Stan mixing up a protein shake with a simple, loaded message overlaid on screen: “And so it begins… Training Sebastian Stan for Batman.” Walsh’s caption left no room for ambiguity either. “Can’t explain just how excited we are to be training Sebastian for Batman,” he wrote. “This is going to be epic! Sebastian is one of the kindest clients we’ve ever had the opportunity to work with.”

Stan hasn’t officially confirmed his role, but multiple reports have placed him as Harvey Dent — Gotham’s idealistic district attorney who, in DC lore, eventually becomes the villainous Two-Face. On paper, a DA doesn’t need to bench press anything. But if Matt Reeves is building toward a version of Two-Face who can actually go toe-to-toe with Robert Pattinson’s Dark Knight, the gym time makes a lot of sense. The Batman made relatively short work of The Riddler in the first film — a physical, credible threat in the sequel would be a different kind of challenge for Bruce Wayne entirely.

https://www.instagram.com/

A Cast That’s Quietly Become Stacked

Stan won’t be the only Marvel alumnus stepping into Gotham. Scarlett Johansson — the MCU’s Natasha Romanoff — has also joined the sequel, reportedly as Gilda Dent, Harvey’s wife. It’s a fascinating pairing, and the fact that two of Marvel’s most recognizable faces are now headlining a DC project says a lot about where the industry’s walls have fallen.

The returning cast is equally formidable. Pattinson is back as Bruce Wayne, Colin Farrell reprises his scene-stealing turn as Oswald “Oz” Cobb / The Penguin, Jeffrey Wright returns as Commissioner Gordon, and Andy Serkis is back as Alfred. Variety has reported that Barry Keoghan is also likely to return as the Joker. And Game of Thrones legend Charles Dance has joined the fold, reportedly as Charles Dent — Harvey’s father — which adds a whole other layer of intrigue to that storyline.

Reeves is directing again from a script he co-wrote with Mattson Tomlin, and he’s already been teasing the film’s tone. First-look images he shared recently suggested a wintry Gotham — darker, colder, more atmospheric than before.

Pattinson has been candid about how much he loves where the story is going. “I mean, the script is so good,” he’s said. “The first one was like a little bit of a different type of Batman movie, and this is like really a different type of Batman movie. I think hopefully people will be really pleasantly surprised by it. Yeah, I’m really excited.”

Will The Riddler Be Back Too?

One question fans keep asking: what about Paul Dano? The actor played Edward Nashton / The Riddler in the first film, and he’s been coy — but not dismissive — about a possible return. Speaking to Collider, Dano said, “I don’t know. Matt is so caring and obsessive in bringing such a point of view to that film, and I think he is going to again. I could not be more excited to see what he does, and I hope maybe I’ll get to dance again.”

He also revealed he knows just enough to be genuinely intrigued. “I know a very little bit about it, but what I do know, I am excited by, for sure, and I would be surprised if you wouldn’t be as well.”

And when asked about the film existing within DC Studios’ broader DCU, Dano was thoughtful: “I think what’s really interesting about those films from here on out is embracing the point of view within them, rather than trying all be similar and all be the same. So I think I’m in on bringing the point-of-view filmmaking to Gotham.”

For Marvel fans watching all of this unfold, there’s a quietly anxious subplot running underneath the excitement. Stan’s DC commitments have some wondering what that means for Bucky Barnes’ future — specifically whether the Winter Soldier survives Avengers: Doomsday, given that Secret Wars is expected to begin production soon. Nothing’s confirmed either way.

For now, though, Stan is in the gym, the protein shakes are flowing, and Gotham is getting closer. The Batman: Part 2 opens October 1, 2027.

The post Sebastian Stan Is Already Training Hard for The Batman 2 appeared first on Cream.

• Matt Reeves shared camera test images of the Batmobile driving through a snowstorm, the first official look at The Batman: Part II
• Reeves posted with the hashtag #SnowTires and a bat emoji, confirming the shots are from the sequel
• He also reshared a fan’s image of a comic book cover showing Batman in the snow, fueling Mr. Freeze speculation
• Reeves said back in 2022 he believes there’s a “grounded version” of the Mr. Freeze story that could be “really powerful”
• The Batman: Part II begins filming later this year and hits theaters October 1, 2027

Matt Reeves just gave fans their first real look at The Batman: Part II — and Gotham City is apparently getting a whole lot colder.

The director posted behind-the-scenes camera test photos to X on Thursday under the caption “SnowTires 🦇,” revealing the Batmobile cutting through a full-on snowstorm. When a fan asked whether the images were from the sequel, Reeves confirmed they were. It’s a small tease, but it’s the first concrete glimpse of what Robert Pattinson’s Dark Knight is stepping into for his second outing — and the internet has been running with it ever since.

Reeves didn’t stop there. He also reshared a fan’s post featuring the cover of Batman (Vol. 3) #57 — the 2018 comic illustrated by Tony S. Daniel and Tomeu Morey, written by Tom King — which shows Batman standing in the snow. That issue followed the Dark Knight going up against the KGBeast, a Russian assassin. But when you pair a snow-covered Gotham with that particular comic aesthetic, there’s really only one name on every fan’s lips right now: Mr. Freeze.

The Mr. Freeze Rumors Have Been Out There for a While

This isn’t the first time the icy supervillain has come up in connection with the sequel. Rumors of a winter setting and a potential Freeze storyline have been circulating for over a year, and Reeves himself opened the door to the idea back in 2022.

“Mr. Freeze, that’s such a great story, right?” he said at the time. “I think there’s actually a grounded version of that story, which could be really powerful and could be really great… I just feel drawn to finding the grounded version of everything. So, to me it would be a challenge in an interesting way to try and figure out how that could happen.”

That’s not a confirmation, but it’s not a dismissal either — and coming from a filmmaker who already delivered one of the most grounded, noir-drenched Batman stories ever put on screen, the idea of him tackling Victor Fries and his ailing wife Nora feels like a genuinely compelling fit.

Which brings us to the casting rumor that suddenly has a new layer of intrigue. Word has been floating around that Sebastian Stan and Scarlett Johansson are in talks to play Harvey Dent and his wife Gilda in Part II. That’s still the prevailing gossip — but if the film is leaning into a winter storyline, some fans are now wondering whether those roles could actually be Victor and Nora Fries instead. The tragic love story at the heart of Mr. Freeze’s origin has been told memorably before — most famously in the Batman: The Animated Series episode “Heart of Ice,” and then again (far less memorably) with Arnold Schwarzenegger in the 1997 film Batman & Robin. Reeves’ version would almost certainly look nothing like either.

Separately, Charles Dance has been reported to be in talks to join the cast as Harvey Dent’s father, which adds another thread to what’s shaping up to be a dense ensemble.

What We Know About the Sequel So Far

Production on The Batman: Part II is set to get underway later this year, with a release date locked in for October 1, 2027. Beyond the snowy Batmobile and the swirling cast speculation, details about the actual story remain tightly under wraps — which, honestly, is exactly how Reeves operates.

What Thursday’s post made clear is that Gotham is getting a visual overhaul. The rain-soaked, perpetually autumnal city of the first film is about to meet winter — and whatever that means for the story, the atmosphere is already looking like something worth waiting for.

The post Matt Reeves Teases Snowy Gotham for The Batman: Part II appeared first on Cream.