Scarlett Johansson tipped as Gotham’s next big bad in The Batman Part II leak

Gotham is never quiet for long. After Paul Dano turned the city into a crime-scene scavenger hunt in The Batman, the sequel looks like it may trade blunt-force terror for something slower and nastier. And yes, the name being tossed around for the big bad is a very famous one: Scarlett Johansson.

The rumor everyone is passing around

A post that blew up on Reddit's r/DCULeaks claims Johansson is playing the main villain in The Batman: Part II — not a magical, pheromone-blasting Poison Ivy, but a grounded, serial-killer spin on the character. Think: a wealthy botanist who targets Gotham's elite with meticulously engineered plant-based toxins and poisonous gases. According to the same leak, Batman spends part of the movie chasing the wrong suspect — Sebastian Stan's rumored Victor Zsasz — before realizing Johansson's character is the real mastermind.

Important reality check: none of that has been confirmed by Warner Bros. or director Matt Reeves. Treat it like what it is — a strong, very online rumor.

Why fans think it might be legit

This has traction for one big reason: Matt Reeves has confirmed Scarlett Johansson is in the sequel, but her role is still under wraps. Add in the first film's momentum — The Batman made over $770 million worldwide, got broad critical praise, and spun off HBO's The Penguin — and you get a fandom that studies every casting whisper like Zapruder footage. A stealthy, science-based take on Ivy would also fit the series' grounded detective-noir vibe, so it is easy to see why people are connecting dots.

What is actually official on Part II

• Returning cast: Robert Pattinson is back as Bruce Wayne/Batman, with Colin Farrell (Penguin), Zoe Kravitz (Catwoman), Jeffrey Wright (Jim Gordon), and Andy Serkis (Alfred) all returning.
• Director: Matt Reeves is back behind the camera.
• Production: Filming is underway in London under the working title 'Vengeance 2'.
• Release date: October 1, 2027, in theaters.
• Story setting and tone: A frigid Gotham still digging out from the Riddler's flood; the same slow-burn detective-noir approach, now picking up threads from HBO's The Penguin.
• Character focus: Bruce Wayne's emotional arc remains the backbone as the mystery drags him deeper into Gotham's rot and his own family history.
• Continuity: The film sits in DC's Elseworlds lane, fully separate from James Gunn's main DC Universe.

So, is Johansson the villain?

We know she's in the movie. We do not know who she's playing. The Reddit version — a prestige, serial-killer riff on Poison Ivy who weaponizes botany and lets Batman chase Zsasz down a blind alley first — lines up with this franchise's aesthetic and would be a smart way to introduce a classic foe without superpowers. But until Reeves or WB say it out loud, it lives in rumor territory.