The Batman 2 director Matt Reeves has confirmed that Marvel stars Scarlett Johansson and Sebastian Stan as well as Charles Dance, Brian Tyree Henry, and Sebastian Koch have joined the film’s cast.
Reeves revealed the casting in a series of posts on X on Thursday, using GIFs to announce each actor individually.
Confirming Johansson’s involvement, he posted a GIF of the actor from the 2013 film Under the Skin alongside the caption: “Next exit, Gotham… Welcome.”
Hours later, he confirmed Stan’s casting with another GIF and the words: “In a Gotham state of mind… Welcome.”
Reeves announced Dance, Koch, and Henry in similar posts.
The Batman was released in March 2022 and starred Robert Pattinson as a younger Bruce Wayne and Jeffrey Wright as Gotham City police lieutenant Jim Gordon who investigated a series of murders carried out by the Riddler, portrayed by Paul Dano.
The film went on to receive largely positive reviews from critics and made $772m worldwide.
Little is known about the sequel other than that it is now scheduled for release in 2027, having originally been earmarked for 2026.
The sequel will see Pattinson and Wright reprise their roles, alongside Andy Serkis as Alfred Pennyworth, Colin Farrell as Oz Cobb, also known as the Penguin, Jayme Lawson as Mayor Bella Reál and Gil Perez-Abraham as Officer Martinez.
In December, Johansson was reported to be in final negotiations to join the sequel, while Stan was reportedly in talks to play Harvey Dent, the Gotham district attorney who eventually becomes the villain Two-Face.
Reeves has not confirmed what roles the actors have been cast in.
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Fans have reacted with excitement to the casting news, with many describing Stan’s inclusion as “generational”.
Stan previously played Bucky Barnes, also known as the Winter Soldier, in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
“DC fans about to witness the greatness of Sebastian Stan Marvel fans have been getting for years,” one fan said on X.
“Few contemporaries can equal Robert Pattinson’s intensity and range. Sebastian Stan is one of them,” wrote another.
Another fan called Stan’s addition “one of my favourite DC castings maybe ever”, adding: “The potential is otherworldly for his character.”
Johansson’s casting fuelled speculation that the actor could play Gilda Dent, Harvey Dent’s wife in the Batman comics. In Batman: The Long Halloween, Gilda struggles as Dent becomes increasingly consumed by his war against Gotham’s mob families before eventually transforming into Two-Face.
“Let’s goooooo. Welcome Gilda Dent,” one fan wrote on X.
Another posted: “Gilda Dent is here and I’m already terrified for Harvey.”
“Not Scarlett Johansson collecting franchises like infinity stones,” another fan joked, referencing the actor’s roles in Marvel’s Avengers films as Black Widow and the recently released Jurassic World Rebirth.
Other fans responded to the scale of Reeves’s Gotham ensemble, writing: “I don’t think Gotham is going to be able to contain all these stars and this level of action. They might actually need to expand the city. This is about to be crazy.”
Production on The Batman 2 is underway in the UK after several delays to the screenplay. Last week, Reeves posted images teasing snow-covered set pieces and the Batmobile driving through winter conditions, captioning one image “#SnowTires”.
The film is scheduled for release on 1 October 2027.
