The Batman: Part II — Updates: Shooting Starts! + Casting Rumors

Filming Begins:

Captioned “#FirstShot,” Matt Reeves has officially announced that filming for The Batman: Part II is finally underway. With Eric Messerschmidt returning as the film’s cinematographer, production began on Saturday, June 13.

The image appears to show the first take of Scene 26, meaning filming is still in its very early stages.

Naturally, fans have gone into detective mode. Some are already dissecting every pixel of the image. From what can actually be seen, however, there isn’t much to analyze: it appears to show a bald white man lying dead on a bed, with the lower half of his body covered by a white sheet.

Also, can you really blame the fans? The Batman was widely regarded as one of the best superhero films of the decade and arguably the best Live-Action Batman movie ever made, and fans have waited more than five years for meaningful news about its sequel. When the first official production image finally arrives, overanalyzing it is inevitable.

Matt Reeves’ Tweet announcing the filming

The post has already amassed more than 82,000 likes, proving that the excitement surrounding The Batman: Part II hasn’t faded one bit.

Casting Rumors:

Sebastian Stan, Brian Tyree Henry, Scarlett Johansson, and Charles Dance — The Batman: Part II cast

Before Reeves’ announcement, however, a major scoop regarding the film and its cast surfaced from well-known insider Jeff Sneider of The InSneider.

According to Sneider, the roles fans had long assumed for several cast members were actually part of a deliberate misdirection by the filmmakers. The popular belief that Sebastian Stan would portray Harvey Dent, Brian Tyree Henry would play Harvey Bullock, and Scarlett Johansson had been cast as Gilda Dent was, according to the scoop, incorrect all along.

So, who are they really playing?

Before we get into that, though, a 🚨spoiler warning🚨 is absolutely necessary!

Two-Face and Victor Zsasz

According to Sneider, Sebastian Stan is not playing Gotham’s district attorney, Harvey Dent. Instead, he is reportedly set to portray the psychopathic serial killer Victor Zsasz.

The claim caught many fans off guard, as a large portion of the community had become convinced that Stan was destined to play Dent. Unsurprisingly, the alleged casting has been met with mixed reactions.

In the comics, Victor Zsasz is a sadistic serial killer who carves a tally mark into his own skin for every victim he claims. He is typically depicted as completely bald, with his body covered in scars and tally marks.

Interestingly, some fans believe Stan’s recent shaved-head appearance lends credibility to Sneider’s report, as the actor has been spotted bald in public on several occasions.

Some fans refuse to believe this scoop, as Sebastian Stan said in a recent interview that he’s playing “many roles in this one.” That statement makes sense if he’s playing Dent but not Zsasz, unless they decide to give Victor DID.

The second major revelation from Sneider is that Harvey Dent is reportedly in the film after all, but he is not being played by Sebastian Stan. Instead, according to the insider, the role belongs to Brian Tyree Henry.

If the report proves accurate, Henry would become the second Black actor to portray Harvey Dent in a live-action adaptation. Sneider also claims that Dent will suffer the character’s iconic acid attack, setting the stage for his transformation into Two-Face.

Unsurprisingly, this scoop has generated even more discussion than the Victor Zsasz reveal. While some fans are interested to see Henry’s take on such an iconic Batman character, others remain skeptical, especially after months of speculation that Stan had been cast as Dent.

Also, some are just racists.

Scarlett Johansson is reportedly playing an unknown character, likely an original character, according to Jeff Sneider. The role is said to be a composite of two different characters rather than a direct adaptation from the comics. Meanwhile, Charles Dance is reportedly cast as her father.

Naturally, fans have begun speculating about the character’s true identity. One of the more popular theories says Johansson may be portraying an original interpretation of the Phantasm, while Dance could be playing a high-ranking member of the Court of Owls.

And yes, the Court of Owls. According to Sneider’s report, the secretive organization is also set to play a role in the film, adding another layer of intrigue to the story.

That’s it for today. I intend to keep posting articles whenever a new update comes regarding The Batman: Part II.