I have no real problem with Kravitz's Catwoman, although I do think she's generally overrated to some degree, I just all-around prefer ScarJo over her.

Man the Phantasm?? That's such a cool idea... I would've never even thought of that character thinking of all the directions the movies could go. I'm fairly certain Mask of the Phantasm is the only time that character has ever popped up.


But yeah TC, as others have pointed out, that's a really revered movie. Most fans consider The Animated Series the hands down best Batman IP of all time - and Mask of the Phantasm is peak BTAS.


The Phantasm and Court of Owls in the same movie... Reeves is in his bat-bag.

Yeah, I didn't mean to disparage it. I used to love the old animated series and I'm sure this is just as good if not better. I was more laughing at the idea of it being some kind of cinephile barometer or whatever.

TL;DR...

Emma Stone reportedly passed on starring in ‘THE BATMAN: PART 2’ before Scarlett Johansson was in talks.

(Source: https://t.co/hJHr60OaRL) pic.twitter.com/jGRWum1n6R

— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) December 4, 2025

RUMOR: The male villain of ‘THE BATMAN 2’ is possibly Doctor Arkham.

(via https://t.co/fjYnkeq5ov) pic.twitter.com/81pgao9dgY

— The Batman Film News 🦇 (@TheBatmanFilm_) December 4, 2025

Obviously, my post about Mask of the Phantasm was "tongue in cheek" but really, that's a massive spoiler for anyone who hasn't seen that movie. It's a shame it's coming out so blatantly. The mystery of who the Phantasm is sits at the center of the narrative. It truly is one of the best Batman story lines and uses all the voice actors from Batman the Animated Series. You should do yourself a favor and watch it.

This isn't like announcing who is playing Poison Ivy or the Penguin.

It will be interesting to see how Matt Reeves would weave in the plot of the Phantasm, knowing so many are already aware of who she is. You kind of lose the ability to do a reveal like in Mask of the Phantasm or the reveal of Talia al Ghul in the Dark Knight Rises.

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You kind of lose the ability to do a reveal like in Mask of the Phantasm or the reveal of Talia al Ghul in the Dark Knight Rises.

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If anything, this is reason enough not to repeat roughly the same twist/surprise, with yet another love interest. Reeves can't draw from that well again after Nolan already did it.

I obviously haven't see Mask of the Phantasm (I'll try and watch it soon), so I don't know the structure there, but if I had to guess, in purely thematic terms, Reeves is going to play it straight/chronologically and avoid any kind of twist. Think of it this way...

We already know that Bruce is going to get a lot more screen time in this movie. So maybe Andrea is the one to draw Bruce out of the shadows, give him a life outside of Batman, etc. Through her he "sees the light" so to speak, gets a taste of normalcy, and maybe even contemplates giving up being Batman altogether. But then Andrea's father is murdered and she becomes the Phantasm - vengeful, out for blood, etc. To that end, she not only becomes a twisted mirror for Bruce - he sees his origin story in her, her going wrong where he went right, etc - there's also an irony there that the one thing that was giving Bruce a life outside of Batman is now the very thing pulling him back in, and he has to commit for whatever reason - as Batman - to stop her. The theme/message being that he can't take the "easy" way out just yet - that Batman is his true calling, not Bruce-with-the-normal-life, with Andrea/Phantasm serving as the thematic fulcrum on that journey.

Something along those lines.

I could, of course, be totally off, though.

TCTTS said:

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Quote:

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You kind of lose the ability to do a reveal like in Mask of the Phantasm or the reveal of Talia al Ghul in the Dark Knight Rises.

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If anything, this is reason enough not to repeat roughly the same twist/surprise, with yet another love interest. Reeves can't draw from that well again after Nolan already did it.

I obviously haven't see Mask of the Phantasm (I'll try and watch it soon), so I don't know the structure there, but if I had to guess, in purely thematic terms, Reeves is going to play it straight/chronologically and avoid any kind of twist. Think of it this way...

We already know that Bruce is going to get a lot more screen time in this movie. So maybe Andrea is the one to draw Bruce out of the shadows, give him a life outside of Batman, etc. Through her he "sees the light" so to speak, gets a taste of normalcy, and maybe even contemplates giving up being Batman altogether. But then Andrea's father is murdered and she becomes the Phantasm - vengeful, out for blood, etc. To that end, she not only becomes a twisted mirror for Bruce - he sees his origin story in her, her going wrong where he went right, etc - there's also an irony there that the one thing that was giving Bruce a life outside of Batman is now the very thing pulling him back in, and he has to commit for whatever reason - as Batman - to stop her. The theme/message being that he can't take the "easy" way out just yet - that Batman is his true calling, not Bruce-with-the-normal-life, with Andrea/Phantasm serving as the thematic fulcrum on that journey.

Something along those lines.

I could, of course, be totally off, though.

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So I finally watched Mask of the Phantasm and yeah it's pretty good. Granted, all these years later a lot of it is so surface level and kind of cheesy, but for what it is I was entertained. If anything, I love the look/vibe of it (and the animated series in general), to the point where, after the Pattinson run, they really need to do a live-action Batman set in the '40s and '50s (same for Superman for that matter).

All of that said, I stand by exactly what I posted above. But now, with added context, I can go into a little more detail...

- There are times when Andrea is damn near a spitting image of a 1940s-ish Emma Stone, so I totally get that casting and am more convinced than ever that the live action role is, indeed, Andrea Beaumont. That said, Johansson can better-pull-off that voluptuous/buxom/femme fatale vibe and, like I said, earlier, is a better fit for the action aspects of the character as well.

- Based on what I proposed above, the flashbacks to college-aged Bruce/Andrea would essentially, at least in terms of a basic, "meet cute"/fall-in-love conceit, essentially make up, say, the first half of The Batman Part II. Except no flashbacks, with the two characters falling in love in the wake of the events of the first movie.

- From Wikipedia, this also plays into exactly what I was saying earlier: "In Mask of the Phantasm, producer Alan Burnett 'wanted to do a big love story with Bruce because we hadn't really done it on the TV show. I wanted a story that got into his head.' Burnett centered Andrea in his conception of the film's story: 'We wanted to make a big movie story. We were telling a story about 'the girl who got away'. The one woman who could have stopped Bruce from ever becoming Batman.' The resulting narrative, which dealt with Bruce's decision to become and remain Batman, hinged on Bruce and Andrea's relationship." To that end, I stick by this as well: "The theme/message being that he can't take the 'easy' way out just yet - that Batman is his true calling, not Bruce-with-the-normal-life, with Andrea/Phantasm serving as the thematic fulcrum on that journey."

- Andrea's father Carl being a financier/money guy for the mob would be perfect too, considering how mob-heavy the first movie and The Penguin were. In fact, I wonder if Carl's murder could even be the murder that sets the events of the movie in motion, leading to Bruce/Batman having to investigate/do his detective thing, that's how he meets Andrea, and they fall in love. However, the more Bruce/Batman investigates, the more sinister things get, ultimately leading to… the Court of Owls? Something along those lines?

- Either way, I would definitely leave the Joker out of this iteration and save him for the third movie. There are next to no rumors that the Joker will be appearing in Part II, and I just think it's cleaner if it stays that way.

- Again from Wikipedia, and building on my thematic guess in the post above: "Andrea serves as a foil for Batman. The characters are very similar; they both don an intimidating costume and speak to the gravestones of their parents (as if holding a conversation with the deceased). The paralleling of their characters - most importantly the death of their parents at the hand of criminals - highlights how different they are: Though they both became vigilantes, Andrea chose to become a killer, following a warped code of "eye for an eye" justice, while Bruce chose a code of ethics that forbids killing." Hell, Bruce even says, "But AndI, what will vengeance solve?," which is directly in sync with Bruce's journey in the first movie, going from "I am vengeance" to a symbol of hope.

However it all plays out, all I know is that I would be shocked at this point if the character isn't Andrea. There are simply way too many signs/parallels pointing in that direction.

Been a while since I saw the original movie. The twist is a surprise to both Bruce and the audience, right?

What if this new movie changes that where the audience knows the reveal, but Bruce does not leading to a lot of tension between what the audience knows vs. what Bruce and Batman know.

If this actually happens...

As discussed on yesterday’s episode of THE HOT MIC, which is worth tracking down… pic.twitter.com/lZMI5YEJaO

— Jeff Sneider (@TheInSneider) December 12, 2025

Brad Pitt is rumored to be in talks to join ‘THE BATMAN — PART TWO’ as an antagonist, possibly Dr. Arkham.

Starring Robert Pattinson, Colin Farrell, Scarlett Johansson, Barry Keoghan, Jeffrey Wright, and Andy Serkis. pic.twitter.com/6yOPAvspcW

— Cinema Solace (@SolaceCinema) December 12, 2025

https://www.worldofreel.com/blog/2025/12/12/rumor-brad-pitt-in-talks-for-reeves-the-batman-part-two

Seven was a huge influence on The Batman, specifically the Riddler. What if Reeves takes inspiration again, but this time flips it on its head and has the "hero" cop from Seven now go against type by playing the villain here?

Yes, there were discussions early on with Brad Pitt about a role in THE BATMAN PART II, but no, they didn't materialize. He's busy with THE RIDERS next year. But that's only PART of the story. I'll explain in an upcoming newsletter. Maybe tonight. Maybe this wknd. We'll see... pic.twitter.com/FCWWqcTxVl

— Jeff Sneider (@TheInSneider) December 12, 2025

I'm lost now… so are Clayface and the Court of Owls in this?

In the year or two after the first movie, Clayface and Hush were both rumored as potential villains for the sequel. For whatever reasons, those two names were mentioned the most, but never officially, and never from Reeves himself.

Then, out of no where, Mike Flanagan pitched/wrote a Clayface movie for DC/Gunn, which was quickly greenlit. And for months no one knew if was it part of the DCU or part of the Reeves/Pattinson-verse. Seeing as Clayface was so consistently rumored as The Batman Part II villain, many naturally assumed that maybe Flanagan's movie was part of that universe, and that it potentially served as connective tissue/a prequel to The Batman Part II, in much the same way The Penguin did as a TV show, which of course further poured gasoline on the Clayface-is-the-villain fires.

However, once shooting began on Clayface, it was finally confirmed that it was part of the DCU and NOT the Reeves/Pattinson-verse, ruling out once and for all that Clayface will be The Batman Part II villain. That movie has now wrapped filming and is scheduled to come out next September as the third movie in the DCU (after Superman and Supergirl).

So we've been back to square one, villain-wise, until just recently when Scarlett Johansson was announced. Considering it's been officially reported by the trades (Variety, Hollywood Reporter, etc, who don't often report rumor, only done deals or close-to-done deals) that she's playing a love-interest-turned-antagonist, many are speculating that she's playing Andrea Beaumont/Phantasm, though that part hasn't been confirmed yet. However, among those same highly credible reports, it was offhandedly mentioned more than once that Doctor Arkham is possibly playing the other villain. A few days later the Brad Pitt rumor dropped - connecting him to the Doctor Arkham role - and even though he ultimately/officially passed, it at least tells us the caliber/stature of actor Reeves is going after for the role, and that the role is significant.

That said, while it's looking more and more like Phantasm and Doctor Arkham are the two villains - far more credibly rumored than Clayface and Hush - nothing has remotely been confirmed yet, and there could still be surprises in store. To that end, Jeff Sneider, who is as credible as they come, and first reported the Pitt news, says he just got a new tip from reliable source, and will be reporting it either sometime this weekend or Monday, so we should know more soon.

And yeah, the Court of Owls is still on the table too, as I don't necessarily see them being an officially announced villain, but rather a group revealed to be pulling the strings toward the end of the movie.

Ha, wow. Speak of the devil, right on cue. And yeah, it's yet another surprise/curve ball for sure...

HOT RUMOR: Scarlett Johansson's role in THE BATMAN PART II revealed?https://t.co/w5h36fmnCR

— Jeff Sneider (@TheInSneider) December 13, 2025

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Johansson is a real-deal movie star, and her casting is a coup for the Bat-sequel, but without any plot details to chew on, fans were left to wonder who, exactly, she'd be playing.

Early rumors suggested that Johansson would be a love interest who would most likely be revealed to be villainous in nature. Fans tossed out the usual guesses - the Phantasm, Poison Ivy, Vicky Vale, etc.

But a well-placed agency source reached out on Friday afternoon to shed some light on where things stand.

According to this source, The Batman Part II offers three new key roles, among other plum parts, and the town's agents were instructed to pitch clients for a man and woman in their 40s, and an older man in his 60s.

I'm told by this source that the three roles are, in fact, Harvey Dent, his wife, and… his father. Doctor Arkham is also in the movie, but it's expected to be a smaller role.

Thus, it's my understanding that Johansson will play Mrs. Dent, aka Gilda Gold, and that Reeves had reached out to 61-year-old Brad Pitt not about playing Harvey, but about playing his alcoholic father, Christopher Dent, who had an abusive relationship with his son.

Alas, despite rampant rumors, Pitt will not be involved in The Batman sequel, as next year he'll be busy shooting Edward Berger's The Riders for A24. It was impossible to make the dates work once production on The Riders was pushed back a month or so.

That is all I "know" as of right now. The following is mere speculation…

For those of you who aren't familiar with Batman comics, Gilda Gold is revealed to be the Holiday Killer (well, one of two), the culprit behind a year-long mobster murder spree in Batman: The Long Halloween.

Now, I'm not saying that Reeves is simply doing The Long Halloween, a comic that clearly influenced Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy and The Batman as well.

It's more likely that Reeves and his co-writer, Mattson Tomlin, are picking and choosing certain characters and plot points from The Long Halloween to include in their sequel.

I believe this theory is bolstered by the current release date for The Batman Part II - Oct. 1, 2027. I was always curious about that date (for example, why not release it in July, when The Dark Knight hit theaters), but it makes much more sense if there is a Long Halloween element to the movie.

Reeves has said that The Batman Part II is another dark serial killer tale, and that the villain has never been done before in live-action. The Holiday Killer fits that description, and also feels like the kind of buzzy role Scarjo would aggressively lobby for, having played a hero in the MCU and Jurassic World franchises.

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https://www.theinsneider.com/p/scarlett-johnasson-batman-part-2-role-revealed-hot-rumor-harvey-dent

Look up and you'll see the Bat-signal in the sky! Thus, we had no choice but to answer the call... https://t.co/4g5CvB6DYj

— Jeff Sneider (@TheInSneider) December 13, 2025