Fresh rumours around Matt Reeves' The Batman Part II suggest the sequel may lean further into the strange, grim tone of the 2022 original rather than settling into a more conventional Gotham of mobsters and crooked lawyers. Industry commentator Jeff Sneider reports that the main antagonist could be the Court of Owls — a sinister secret society of Gotham's ruling elite — with serial killer Victor Zsasz also potentially in the mix, which would push Harvey Dent into a lesser role. If accurate, this marks a notable shift from earlier expectations that Reeves would rein in the weirdness for the follow-up.

Earlier speculation had Sebastian Stan playing Harvey Dent/Two-Face alongside Scarlett Johansson as his wife Gilda, though Warner Bros has confirmed only their casting, not their roles. The newer reports suggest Stan may instead play Zsasz, with Brian Tyree Henry portraying Dent — possibly without ever becoming Two-Face, a story already told in Christopher Nolan's films. The Court of Owls, introduced in Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo's 2011 comics run, has never appeared in a live-action Batman film, while there is also talk that Barry Keoghan's Joker could feature, largely confined to Arkham Asylum, with the character possibly held back as the villain for a third instalment.