It seems a possible future Oscar winner turned down a role in The Batman II that could shift up the production!
The Batman II is getting more buzz as the sequel to Matt Reeves’ 2022 hit promises to build more on his vision of the Caped Crusader. The cast has been building up with Sebastian Stan confirmed as Harvey Dent, who becomes the iconic Gotham City villain Two-Face, with Scarlett Johansson seemingly set for his wife, Gilda.
Speaking to John Rocha’s The Hot Mic podcast, noted insider Jeff Sneider shared a tidbit that the part of Christopher Dent, Harvey’s dad, was offered to Stellan Skarsgård.
“I heard who was offered the role of Christopher Dent [in The Batman II], but apparently they passed. It’s not going to work out and this person is a future Oscar winner, and I say that predicting that Stellan Skarsgard is going to win because he is the one who passed," Sneider revealed.
Skarsgård is currently earning rave reviews for his turn in the drama Sentimental Value, which has made him a frontrunner for the Best Supporting Actor Oscar. Adding this would have been a nice cap on his late-career bloom, so why isn’t it happening?
This wouldn’t be Skarsgård’s first turn in a comic book film, as he played Dr. Erik Selvig in the first Thor film and four more MCU movies. So it’s not as if he’s above that sort of work in the least.
Sneider suggested it could be simply the movie’s filming not lining up with Skarsgård’s schedule. He also speculated that if he does win the Oscar, Skarsgård wouldn’t follow it up with a comic book movie, which is “a trap we’ve seen a lot of Oscar winners fall into.”
It seems that the role of Christopher was meant for a younger actor of Pitt’s age. Now, however, it may be a man closer to Skarsgård’s age of 74 following Stan's casting as Harvey Dent. Among the names Sneider and Rocha threw around were Sean Bean, Viggo Mortensen, Sam Neill, and even George Clooney.
Besides Pattinson, also returning for the film are Jeffrey Wright as Jim Gordon, Andy Serkis as Alfred, Colin Farrell as the Penguin and Barry Keoghan as the Joker. Adding Skarsgård would have been a great addition with his gravitas and experience, even in a small role. It’s likely the film would explore how Christopher’s abusive treatment of Harvey contributed to the psychosis that turned him into Two-Face. Skarsgård would have easily pulled that off.
We’ll have to see who lands the role, yet telling how big The Batman II is when a non-casting is big news!
The Batman II is scheduled to premiere in theaters October 1, 2027.