Despite being over a year away, several big-name villains have already been confirmed for Matt Reeves' The Batman 2. Reeves' gritty and grimy DC epic will continue in 2027, with the return of Robert Pattinson's Bruce Wayne to the big screen. Plot details for the upcoming sequel have not yet been confirmed, but a few notable nuggets have surfaced online.
These have included a growing list of the big bads that the Bat of Gotham City will have to go up against in the new movie. There are already five characters from the Dark Knight's rogues' gallery that have been confirmed to at least play a part in the new film.
Production on The Batman 2 is expected to get underway later this year, with an October 1, 2027, release date already locked in. The film will see Reeves return to the directing chair with a script from himself and co-writer Mattson Tomlin.
Every Villain Confirmed for The Batman 2
Penguin
After making his debut as the iconic bird-themed crime boss in the first Pattinson-led Batman movie, Colin Farrell's Oz Cobb/The Penguin has already been confirmed to return in the upcoming sequel.
Farrell has been outspoken about wanting to come back for The Batman 2. In August 2025, insider John Rocha reported that the character would play at least a small role in the 2027 Batman follow-up, but his The Penguin co-star, Cristin Milioti, may not appear alongside him.
In an October 2025 interview on Happy, Sad, Confused, Farrell outright confirmed his involvement. "It's a masterwork," the Penguin actor remarked, describing Reeves' The Batman 2 script, "It's so brilliant:"
"I had many thoughts to share with Matt about the script. I really do think it’s a masterwork. Kind of a contemporary genre masterwork...It’s so brilliant, and Robert has got such a lovely journey to go on and take the audience through."
This, of course, comes after Farrell starred in the hit The Batman spin-off series, The Penguin, which followed his DC character in the weeks and months following Reeves' first bat-based blockbuster.
Joker
Despite not playing a significant role in the first The Batman movie, Reeves' first film in his DC crime saga introduced its own take on the classic comic book character, The Joker.
Played by Eternals star Barry Keoghan, this unique version of the Clown Prince of Crime appeared on-screen across the glass from Pattinson's Dark Knight, sporting a grotesquely scarred face and truly menacing way of speaking.
According to reporting from known scooper Jeff Sneider, Keoghan's Joker will return for the new sequel, joining the movie's vast catalog of villain characters.
While he may be in the movie, he seemingly will not be the primary threat by any means. All the way back in 2022, Reeves himself addressed the Joker's status in The Batman universe, calling the character a "pre-Joker Joker," and not anywhere near where fans see him in titles like The Dark Knight or Tim Burton's original Batman film:
“What you’re really seeing is a pre-Joker Joker. And the idea for me, why I kept that scene in the movie, even though I cut the first scene that I’m describing, is because it was important for me at the end. I actually took the scene that’s in the movie still out for a brief time. And we tested it, and I realized that for me, on the one hand, it finishes the Riddler’s arc, because you know the way his story plays out and you see him in the wake of what’s happened and how Batman has been able to thwart what he was doing."
Harvey Dent
One of the newest additions to the cast of The Batman 2 is Sebastian Stan as the longtime comic book character Harvey Dent. Those plugged into the DC canon will know that Dent, who is initially introduced as the Gotham District Attorney, does not remain on the side of the heroes.
After a devastating accident that left him brutally scarred on one side of his face, Dent takes on the criminal moniker Two-Face, creating his own brand of justice-based chaos across Gotham City.
Stan's addition to the movie was confirmed in early January, with his specific role seemingly kept under wraps. It was not long after this that Jeff Sneider popped online, alluding to the actor playing the iconic comic book district attorney. It is currently unclear whether the star will undergo his character's brutal disfigurement in the film, but this adds another villainous player to the DC board.
Christopher Dent
Joining Sebastian Stan's Harvey Dent in The Batman 2, will supposedly be in-universe father, Christopher. This specific reporter comes from Deadline's Justin Kroll during a recent appearance on the My Mom's Basement podcast.
When discussing the upcoming DC sequel, Kroll posited that there is still "one big [role] left" to cast, namely "an older role, which everyone presumes is Harvey Dent's dad."
In the comics, Christopher Dent is best known as Harvey's alcoholic, abusive father. He does not have a particular villainous alter ego, but his impact on his son runs deep. In fact, the comics have revealed that the character was the inspiration behind Two-Face's legendary coin flip, as Christopher would flip a coin to decide whether to beat his son.
Scarlett Johansson's Mystery Character
The last villain set to appear in The Batman 2 (at least that we know of so far) is Scarlett Johansson in a new mystery role. The beloved Marvel actor has signed on to the project, with specific details surrounding her part still being kept under wraps.
The rumor is that Johansson would play a new romantic interest for Bruce Wayne/Batman in the film, as well as a potentially villainous threat. This has led some to believe she could be playing Andrea Beaumont (aka Phantasm) from the acclaimed animated Mask of the Phantasm movie.
Others have speculated that she could be playing Harvey Dent's on-screen wife, Gilda. Gilda Dent has a long comics history, including in the oft-celebrated Long Halloween story, in which the character adopted the serial killer moniker Holiday.
