The Batman: Part 2 officially has a new working title that points to it adapting a never-before-seen villain. The Batman 2 finally looks set to become reality after director Matt Reeves completed the script with co-writer Mattson Tomlin last summer ahead of its expected October 1, 2027 release. Production is expected to begin in the coming months, bringing back Robert Pattinson's Batman to face a brand-new murder mystery, although the identity of the movie's villain has been kept under wraps by Reeves and DC Studios.
According to a report from North Hollywood Buzz, The Batman: Part 2 is gearing up to start production on May 29 under the new working title of Semper Vigilans. The Latin working title translates to "always vigilant" or "always watchful," which may have a deeper meaning that unravels The Batman sequel's villain mystery.
This marks The Batman 2's second working title, as it was previously reported to go by Vengeance 2, after the first movie was originally codenamed Vengeance.
Upon hearing the news, many quickly began to speculate that Semper Vigilans is teasing the Court of Owls as the mastermind villain of The Batman: Part 2. For those unaware, the Court of Owls is an ancient society of Gotham's wealthiest families who have ruled the city in secret since its founding, using murder and money to influence politics, business, and people alike from the shadows.
The Court of Owls' introduction in The Batman 2 would be truly historic as, despite having appeared before in Gotham and Gotham Knights TV shows, the Dark Knight is yet to take on the ancient order in a live-action movie.
The order may be unknown to Gotham's general public, but it had been hinted at in urban legends and nursery rhymes, including one that warns of the Court of Owls "that watches all time," which sounds eerily siliar to "always watchful:"
"Beware the Court of Owls, that watches all the time, ruling Gotham from a shadowy perch, behind granite and lime. They watch you at your hearth, they watch you in your bed, speak not a whispered word of them or they’ll send the Talon for your head.”
Matt Reeves confirmed that The Batman 2's villain has "never really been done in a movie before," which rules out most of the top contenders, including Harvey Dent, aka Two-Face, who will be played in the flick by Sebastian Stan.
Of course, as the Court of Owls was only created by Scott Snyder in 2011 for his infamous Batman run during the New 52, the ancient order of Gotham corruption has never made it to screens, but that may be about to change. The Court of Owls were already referenced in The Batman and always made sense to appear in the trilogy due to its focus on exposion corruption in Gotham.
The Court of Owls Is the Missing Piece in The Batman 2's Dent Mystery
Having signed Sebastian Stan as Harvey Dent and Scarlett Johansson as his wife, Gilda, The Batman 2 is reportedly also casting Harvey's father, Christopher. The future Two-Face's abusive, alcoholic father is said to have a major role in the upcoming sequel, but there has been a lingering question mark over why.
DC Comics has previously portrayed Harvey's father as a politician with addictions to alcohol and gambling who would use a rigged coin to decide whether he would beat his son. The senior Dent's higher status in Gotham and older age could make him a strong candidate to be a member or leader of the Court of Owls.
Many have also speculated that Gilda Dent will have her own murderous twist in The Batman 2, possibly being a version of the Court of Owls' assassin Talon. The one-two punch of discovering that his wife and father are tied to corruption in Gotham could send the district attorney Harvey into a spiral.
Those revelations combined with a tragic disfigurement could be what transforms Stan's Harvey Dent into the legendary Two-Face, setting him up as a major villain in The Batman: Part 3, if it happens, and more of a tragic villain than usual.
