After dealing with its fair share of delays, The Batman Part II is back on track at DC Studios. Matt Reeves' script is in, so the production is now focusing on recruiting talent to fill the roles that will leave their mark on Gotham in the upcoming sequel.
Given Reeves' track record, it should come as no surprise that he has already reeled in a couple of big names. Two Marvel alums, Sebastian Stan and Scarlett Johansson, crossed the aisle in order to tackle more high-brow superhero material.
While DC has done a good job keeping Stan and Johansson's roles under wraps, the rumor mill continues to tease that they will play Harvey Dent and his wife, Glinda Dent, respectively, when The Batman Part II hits theaters on October 1, 2027. Harvey, of course, is the Gotham district attorney who breaks bad and becomes the villain Two-Face, while Glinda, who made a name for herself in Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale's comic Batman: The Long Halloween, also has a mean streak.
But reports claim that there's another evildoer in the pages of The Batman Part II's script, Christopher Dent, and his dark side may be what's leading a couple of the biggest actors in Hollywood to think twice about working with Reeves and Co.
The Batman Part II's Final Villain Is Causing Problems
Not long after Johansson took her talents to DC in December 2025, there were murmurs that F1 star Brad Pitt would be joining her. Pitt ultimately turned down the opportunity, and while it took a few weeks for context to arrive, when it did, it changed the narrative. Rather than being up for Harvey, Pitt was in talks to play Christoper, the villain's father.
According to insider Jeff Sneider, Stellan Skarsgård, the favorite for the Best Supporting Actor trophy at the 2026 Academy Awards, is the latest to walk away from a chance to play Christopher. Of course, scheduling could be the issue, but there may be more to the situation than that.
In the source material, Christopher was portrayed as an abusive father, treating his son Harvey so poorly that it changed how the young man viewed the world. Even when Harvey found success as a lawyer, he never kept his father in the loop because he knew the old man would have nothing positive to say.
If Christopher doesn't sound like a multi-dimensional character, it's because he wasn't one. He was used as a tool to explain why Harvey was the way he was and what could drive one of Gotham's brightest down a dark path.
Now, Reeves may have a more nuanced take on the character, which is why he wants to bring in a household name to play him. However, with The Batman Part II having so many mouths to feed, there likely won't be much time for whoever plays Christopher to flex their acting muscles. All the highly anticipated sequel can hope for is that someone will eventually connect with the role and be willing to go to a dark place for a short amount of time.
