The Batman Part 2 casting rumor reveals an even darker movie than the original

From the tragic sci-fi horror of Mr. Freeze to the shadowy conspiracy of the Court of Owls, hypothesis has run rampant over the previous a number of years concerning which villain director Matt Reeves would possibly pluck from the pages of DC Comics for his The Batman follow-up. However latest experiences surrounding The Batman Part II are starting to choose up steam, and whereas none of them must be taken as truth simply but, they provide a compelling glimpse into what Reeves might have deliberate subsequent for Gotham Metropolis.

In accordance with an unconfirmed report from impartial reporter Jeff Sneider, Sebastian Stan is being lined as much as play the psychotic serial killer Victor Zsasz, whereas Brian Tyree Henry will painting the politician-turned-villain Harvey Dent. Neither casting has been confirmed by Warner Bros., DC Studios, or any of the foremost Hollywood trades, so this stays in rumor territory. Nonetheless, if the report proves correct, it suggests Reeves is sticking with the identical grim crime thriller ambiance that helped make The Batman so successful.

Why Victor Zsasz is ideal for The Batman II

Victor Zsasz occupies a quite unusual place in Batman’s rogues gallery. He is recognizable sufficient to seem throughout comics, animation (Harley Quinn, Justice League Dark: Apokolips War), and video video games (Arkham Asylum sequence), however he is hardly ever anybody’s favourite villain. His total schtick is unsettlingly easy: a serial killer who carves a tally mark into his personal pores and skin for each sufferer he claims. Zsasz lacks the theatrical aptitude of the Joker, the operatic tragedy of Mr. Freeze, or the larger-than-life presence of Bane — which is why he feels completely fitted to The Batman Half II. He is the precise taste of Gotham sicko that matches Reeves’s world.

The primary The Batman outing was much less a superhero blockbuster than a detective thriller in a cape and cowl. Drawing closely from movies like Se7en and Zodiac, the director reworked the Riddler right into a serial assassin and framed Batman as an investigator navigating a metropolis rotting from the within out. In that context, Zsasz feels much less like an surprising alternative and extra like an inevitable one.

The rumors additionally recommend Colin Farrell’s Penguin may seem in flashbacks tied to Zsasz’s origin. Once more, that is removed from confirmed, however it might make sense. In some variations of the character’s backstory, notably 1996’s The First Minimize is the Deepest, Zsasz’s descent into insanity begins after he loses his fortune playing at Penguin’s Iceberg Lounge, a devastating loss that creates in him an insatiable urge for food for homicide.

If that is the route Reeves is taking, it might proceed some of the constant concepts working by each The Batman and The Penguin: Gotham’s villains aren’t born from freak accidents or comedian e book science, however are merchandise of town’s legal ecosystem. It’s additionally what makes the Harvey Dent rumor such an attention-grabbing addition.

Which model of Harvey Dent will we get in The Batman II?

Picture: Warner Bros.

Dent, not less than initially, is not even a villain, however a prosecutor and politician. He’s certainly one of Gotham’s few public servants making an attempt to tug town towards one thing resembling justice. If Henry is certainly enjoying the character, Reeves might be laying the groundwork for a long-term Two-Face story, quite than dashing instantly to the coin-flipping legal most audiences know. (It additionally would not be the primary time a Black actor portrayed Gotham’s future district lawyer. Billy Dee Williams famously performed Dent in Tim Burton’s Batman (1989), although shifting inventive plans prevented him from making the eventual transition into Two-Face on display.)

For now, every thing stays firmly within the rumor mill. Till Warner Bros. says in any other case, there is no assure that Stan is enjoying Zsasz or that Henry is enjoying Dent. In truth, there’s no assure both Batman villain will seem within the movie in any respect, however the rumors are fairly thrilling nonetheless. If true, they show Reeves might have little curiosity in leaving Gotham’s darkest alleyways behind, which may be disappointing for followers hoping to see the filmmaker embrace the weirder corners of Batman lore.

But when there’s one factor we are able to glean from the rumor mill, it’s that The Batman Half II will likely be one of many Caped Crusader’s darkest and most grounded tales but when it arrives in theaters on October 1, 2027.