If there is one major DC movie coming out in the next few years that fans are desperately wanting more information on, it’s Matt Reeves’ The Batman Part II. The Batman came out all the way back in 2022, and since then we have received only small bits and pieces of information about what the sequel might hold. Rumors have ran rampant about inclusion of the Court of Owls, to Hush, to Mr. Freeze, with reports changing every few months as the script is still allegedly being written. The newest casting rumors, which involve Brad Pitt and Scarlett Johansson are still shrouded in speculation, but if they are at all accurate then they point to the next chapter in Robert Pattinson’s Batman journey being heavily inspired by the beloved comic series, The Long Halloween. (Potential spoilers for the film could be in this article if these rumors turn out to be correct).
According to recent rumors, both Brad Pitt and Scarlett Johansson were offered roles in The Batman Part II as members of the Dent household. Pitt was allegedly offered the role of Christopher Dent (and was also rumored to have turned down the role, sorry Pitt fans), while Johansson on the other hand is rumored to have accepted the role as Gilda Gold aka Gilda Dent, Harvey Dent’s wife. As pretty much any Batman fan with a pulse is already aware, including Gilda Dent in the film means that we also will be getting Harvey Dent, aka the infamous villain Two-Face. If there is one story that utilizes Gilda and Harvey Dent and fits perfectly as a follow up to The Batman (The Batman Year Two to the film version of The Batman Year One, a recreation of the origins of the character from the 90’s), it’s The Long Halloween.
The story-arc of The Long Halloween shows Batman and and James Gordon partnering up with District Attorney Harvey Dent to help solve the murders caused by the mysterious criminal Holiday, whose claim to villainous fame is murdering people on holidays, once a month. The story is infamous for re-framing Gotham City as an underground mob-led city to a city inhabited by full blown, costumed super-villains (and could be a smart transition to incorporating the franchise into the more fantastical James Gunn led DCU, but that potential headline for another day), and also serves as a full origin story for Harvey Dent into his villainous alter-ego, Two-Face. The only catch to this theory is that we’ve kind of already seen this as a major plot thread in Christopher Nolan’s blockbuster hit, The Dark Knight all the way back in 2008.
The Dark Knight saw the same three-way team-up between Bruce Wayne, James Gordon, and Harvey Dent, and also gave us an altered Two-Face origin when a bunch of oil drums blow up in Dent’s face leaving him permanently disfigured. The only difference is that they were not after a Holiday killer, but The Joker (played by Heath Ledger) who clearly stole the show over Aaron Eckhart’s Two-Face as the film’s primary villain. The fact that Scarlett Johansson has been potentially cast as Dent’s wife, Gilda Dent, however points to a much more faithful adaption of The Long Halloween and not just a cherry pick of plot threads. The Long Halloween was always seen as more of a follow up to the infamous Batman Year One origin Graphic Novel from 1987 then even the actual Batman Year Two story-line, and because of this fact it would (in theory) make a perfect logical follow up to Reeves’ 2022 origin story, The Batman.
(Potential spoilers below!)
The fact Johansson may have been cast as Gilda Dent is a huge implication that the film will be based on The Long Halloween, because in that series it is revealed that Dent’s wife is actually the Holiday killer and started the whole thing as a way to try and eliminate mob crime in Gotham. In the series, Holiday didn’t target random people, but members of the Falcone and Maroni mob families, which led to a mob-war of sorts. As a result, Sal Maroni throws acid in Harvey Dent’s face while on trial and creates Two-Face due to the acid hitting half of Dent’s face. Unlike The Dark Knight, the inclusion of Gilda, Holiday, and the mob families (which have already been conveniently established in The Batman), point to a more traditional origin for Two-Face in contrast to the altered origin we received in the Christopher Nolan film. If Johansson is in fact going to be playing Gilda Dent, it is almost certain this is how the A list actor is going to be utilized in the film.
If this report is accurate, then we can expect no shortage of villainous introductions to Reeves’ sequel as the original series saw the mob families recruit many infamous Batman villains for protection (The Riddler, Poison Ivy, and the Mad Hatter to name a few). The series also includes Dent briefly partnering up with Soloman Grundy, Calendar Man, and even releases a slew of other super-villains from Arkham Asylum into the streets of Gotham. If this is the route the film goes, it will open up a ton of new avenues for character introductions, sequel story-lines, and even potential spin-off characters, slowly turning the Gotham of the original Batman film into the more widely fleshed out, super-villain filled Gotham we got to know in video games such as Arkham City and the Arkham Knight. Even The Joker himself is briefly in The Long Halloween, and after the post credit scene from the first film could be used briefly once again as a tease for a feature in a third sequel. If Reeves chooses to do The Long Halloween, the possibilities are pretty much endless for future stories from there. Also, this would make connecting this franchise to the rest of the DCU much more feasible.
For now, we are taking this as nothing more then a major rumor that could be true, and if it is I think it bodes very well for the future of Reeves’ Batman universe. But for now it is nothing more than a rumor until we get some sort of studio confirmation on Johansson’s casting or any other official statements that coincide with any sort of Long Halloween inspiration. Remember, Nolan already did this to some extent, so if Reeves also goes this route he will have to be very careful to make the film his own and not just feel like a knock off of the most critically acclaimed Batman film to date, The Dark Knight. I am personally holding out hope for some sort of truth to this because of all the potential avenues it opens up for future stories, but for now only time will tell.
Do you want to see a Long Halloween inspired Batman sequel? Do you think the Scarlett Johansson casting rumors are true? Let us know your thoughts down below in the comments!
