Deadline and other outlets report Scarlett Johansson is set to join The Batman Part II, the long-gestating sequel to the 2022 film directed by Matt Reeves, and starring Robert Pattinson. It was not said who she will play in the follow-up, due out October 1, 2027, although Nexus Point News, who broke the story, said “the role may be a new love interest to Bruce Wayne.”
Variety‘s sources also state Zoë Kravitz is not expected to return as Selina Kyle/Catwoman in the sequel. Although the character left Gotham at the end of the first film, the news comes as a surprise given a spin-off wasn’t in the works, and her return was implied in the series finale of The Penguin, where she sent a letter to her incarcerated half-sister Sofia Gigante (Cristin Milioti), suggesting she would come visit her.
Johansson, 41, has continued to stay busy with franchise roles since exiting the Marvel Cinematic Universe with 2021’s Black Widow (11 years after her debut as the character in Iron Man 2), starring in this year’s Jurassic World Rebirth (currently the fourth-highest-grossing film of 2025), and last year’s Transformers One; she also made her directorial debut with this year’s drama film Eleanor the Great, starring June Squibb.
Future projects include a new Exorcist film (directed by Clayface writer Mike Flanagan), which reportedly meant her deal to join The Batman Part II only went to final negotiations after her agents et al. figured out how she would be able to shoot both movies next year. Who she will play remains unknown right now, but possibilities include Vicki Vale, Silver St. Cloud, Julie Madison, or Andrea Beaumont, aka the Phantasm.
The Batman Part II, which Reeves has stated will feaure a villain who’s “never really been done in a movie before,” will also see the return of Colin Farrell as Oz Cobb/Penguin, Jeffrey Wright as Jim Gordon, and Andy Serkis as Alfred when it finally arrives in 2027. In the meantime, fans will get to see the Gotham of the Superman universe on the big screen when Clayface releases on September 11, 2026.
