u/NoAnteater8836

FORWARD

When this idea first started forming I was reluctant to push it hard. Spielberg movies usually wear their hearts on their sleeves, and part of me wanted to take the wonder and the “Listen” at face value. But the more we line the details up, the harder it becomes to ignore what the film is actually doing underneath. I’m not claiming this is the only reading, but I am claiming this film is deliberately engineered so you can’t sit comfortably with the conclusion.

WHAT IS DISCLOSURE DAY?

On the surface it’s a classic Spielberg UFO conspiracy thriller: whistleblowers racing to expose a decades long coverup while the world teeters on the brink of World War III.

Ordinary people against shadowy power.

Truth versus secrecy.

Empathy versus control.

But look just a little harder and the whole thing starts to feel… staged.

THE OPENING IS BLATANT

Of all the ways to open this movie, Spielberg drops us into a wrestling match. The crowd is roaring. The violence looks intense. The camera is right in the middle of the stomps and impacts. We even get a POv sequence. And then we pull back and meet Daniel who is using the noise as cover for the backpack exchange that kicks off the film.

Wrestling is kayfabe.

Everyone involved knows the fight is choreographed. The emotion is real, but the outcome is predetermined, and the audience buys in because the performance delivers.

This film is a wrestling match.

One side of that ring is Wardex. The other is Hugo’s faction. The desperate chase that follows for the next two hours is the same performance. The same kayfabe. The intention all along was for the information to get out when and how it does. Daniel and Margaret were being worked every step of the way.

Hugo says the aliens are calling the shots once and it is seemingly never brought up again.

THE TIMING IS NOT A COINCIDENCE

The world is on the brink of World War III. Actual conflict is erupting as Margaret takes over the news station. Disclosure doesn’t just happen to land at that moment. It interrupts it while the entire world is glued to their televisions or streaming live broadcasts from around the globe. Daniel is told explicitly he can not just dump the files on the internet. The how is just as important as the what.

MARGARET’S ACTIVATION

The cardinal flies in. The switch flips. And Margaret becomes unmistakably childlike. She doesn’t fully understand what’s happening. She speaks languages she doesn’t know she knows. She moves through the world with a wide-eyed, youthful openness. She describes the experience as surrendering to a current instead of steering.

The aliens modified and abducted her as a child. They kept the abilities dormant so that when she was activated her human heart reverted to a state of open mindedness only seen in an unjaded child. When they reactivate her, they restore the unguarded, receptive state they need for this plan to work. The reconstructed childhood home, the Disney song, the fairytale animals are all designed to pull the adult with agency back into the child who could be gently led.

THE DEAD AS TOOLS

Margaret walks through a facility full of armed men and forces them to see their dead or estranged loved ones. Scanlon sees his deceased wife. Others see children, mothers, people they haven’t seen in years. The guns lower. Empathy as a weapon. The most private human pain becomes leverage for the plan. Our fear of death. Our longing to traverse time and see lost loved ones again.

Exploited.

THE CROSS

Jane is under Noah’s psychic control via the alien device. She resists by praying in Latin, clutching her large ornate crucifix, and grinding it into her own palm until it bleeds. Classic stigmata. Later, when he’s forcing her to raise a knife against Daniel, she drives the blade into the exact same wound to break free again. Noah even quotes Christ at Gesthemane while he’s inside her head in an incredibly sinister and satanic manner. It also worth noting this particular quote from the Bible is about total surrender to a higher power “Not my will be done but Yours.”

Faith and self inflicted suffering are the only things that temporarily push the alien technology out. When the cross drops, the control wins out completely. The movie is not subtle about this.

THE TITLE CARD

When the title appears, the letters that form S O SURE fade in first. Not an accident. The movie opens by flashing the phrase that undercuts certainty before “DISCLOSURE DAY” even fully resolves.

THE QUESTION THE FILM REFUSES TO ANSWER

Every major beat is calibrated to leave one distinction blurry:

How would we know the difference between salvation and subjugation if the power offering it was so completely in control?

The aliens interrupt a world sliding into nuclear war. They deliver a message of empathy at the moment people most need it. They free themselves from decades of experimentation. The film stages the global reaction as collective awe. “Listen” lands like grace.

But the methods are far from pure for a species that supposedly values empathy so highly. They selected for abduction and two children whom are not only unable to consent but methods of deception fully utilized to get them to come without fuss.

They watched them for decades.

They restored one to a childlike openness so she would be a perfect unquestioning vessel.

They weaponized grief.

They ran a multi decade operation that treated the struggle between Wardex and the whistleblowers as kayfabe.

The power differential is absolute.

They never have to fully explain themselves.

They simply arrive with the much needed solution at the opportune moment and the means to enforce the conditions under which it will be received.

Spielberg has spent a career making us feel the wonder of contact. Here he seems to be asking what happens when the contact is so total, so far ahead of us, and so willing to shape the human (and perhaps nonhuman) players that the difference between being saved and being told to kneel becomes almost impossible to measure from our vantage point.

Margaret and Daniel experience real fear, love, and moral choice. The audience is invited to feel the uplift of the final broadcast. And yet the architecture underneath is the architecture of a higher will that decided the outcome long before the first frame.

IN CONCLUSION

The film never resolves the tone on purpose. It keeps the aliens benevolent at a surface level read in stated intent and unsettling in practice through closer observation. It lets the religious imagery both elevate and disturb. It opens with a staged fight and closes with a single word that could be either a gift or a command. The title card already asked the question the entire movie is built around:

Are you so sure you want this?

I’m working this out and may go deeper and flesh this out at some point when we know more, but we know Secret Wars comes next so Battleworld has to be made and right now Loki is god of stories and the guardian of the sacred timeline. To create Battleworld (I am just calling it this because the comics do, it will likely be much more of utopia but more on that in a minute) Doom needs Loki’s powers, but the only way he is going to be able to get to Loki is through Thor.

How is he going to get to Thor? He ‘s going to manufacture multiverse incursions and try to rally Thor to find Loki convincing him it is the only way to save the multiverse. Well a lot of people think there is something off with Steve Rogers and I am inclined to agree. I am 99.99% positive given the current climate of the US Marvel is not going to let a Nazi version of Rogers hoist mjolnir.

I think one of the reasons Marvel went with a familiar face for Doom was to throw you off the scent of another familiar face who is not quite what they seem.

People are pointing to Steve’s eyes and outfit but calling Thor (or anyone for that matter) “pal” is not in Steve Rogers’ wheelhouse.

But it very much is in Steven Strange’s and he has even called Thor “pal” before. Strange is also a strong candidate to be able to lift mjolnir.

So I think a major plot point and the crux of the story is going to be Steven Strange and Doom working together to to manipulate Thor into thinking the multiverse is doomed using Steve Rogers’ visage to gain his trust and legitimize the threat to lead them to Loki so Doom can use Loki to create Battleworld.

And bonus: I think the Steve Rogers with Peggy in a happy life has ALWAYS been in battleworld and will be the end scene of the movie. Doom will have gotten to him while he was returning the infinity stones.

Saints Offseason Review

#6-11 in 2025 (opened season 2-10), last in NFC South

#FRONT OFFICE TURNOVER

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The New Orleans Saints experienced no major front office turnover. Executive Vice President of Football Operations Mickey Loomis gears up for his 14th season at the helm of the club.

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#COACHING STAFF TURNOVER

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Will Clapp, a name familiar to more serious Saints fans, steps in for Jahri Evans as assistant OL coach, but apart from that Kellen Moore enters his second year as head coach with his 2025 staff retained.

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#OFFENSE

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Head coach Kellen Moore wears the playcaller and true offensive coordinator cap for his squad. Somewhat of a dying breed, Moore embodies the platitude “student of the game” in his offensive philosophy. He doesn’t slap a single label on it while explicitly pulling bits from historic offenses: Air Coryell verticality and downfield aggression, West Coast timing and precision, Boise State/Chris Petersen motion and tempo, merged with modern spread/RPO elements, Shanahan style zone run concepts, and whatever else he feels might fit the personnel.

His staples?

Stress the defense constantly, simplified operation from his QB with easy and decisive reads that prioritize layups and three pointers, set the tone with the run, and efficiency over volume of exotic plays, or more simply put common concepts from uncommon looks.

He utilizes heavy use of 11 and 12 personnel. Quads/trips/empty looks for overloads (isolate a WR 1 on 1 or flood a side, for example). Likes QB under center for run emphasis/Play action for majority of snaps. Shotgun for spread/RPO/pass.

You’re probably wondering why I am going through the trouble of explaining this in an offseason review thread. Well, when it comes down to position battles and roster cuts, NOLA may be more likely to let a promising middle linebacker walk than what appears on paper to be a middling TE or receiver. With that in mind, it’s an offense that executes at a high level by being hard to prepare for and easy to run. Don’t assume vets have an edge because they “know the offense”.

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#DEFENSE

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Brandon Staley of Chargers infamy (bet some of you were wondering where he went) enters his second year running the defense. Staley is a student of Vic Fangio and his concepts show it emphasizing postsnap conflict, 2high shells with heavy disguise, pattern match coverage, gap and a half principles up front, and personnel multiplicity. He mixes odd and even fronts, base and sub packages, and is known to adjust even in game. Not at all married to one look. Versatile defenders are needed in this scheme, and personal accountability runs high in the system; some defenses allow for improv, Staley’s is rigid in assignment. No off script. Staley’s personnel molds (High IQ Fit Matters):

DL: Versatile, multi-gap

EDGE: Versatile, long, explosive run setters/pass rushers.

ILB: Versatile, instinctive processors, communicators, tacklers.

DB: Versatile. Safeties with range and box ability. Corners who can press and play off.

Disciplined and versatile are the two pillars that Staley values in his defensive personnel when all else is equal. Remember that when we come to position battles.

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#ROSTER TURNOVER

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Player	Position	Status
Cam Jordan	Defensive End	RETAINED
John Ridgeway	Defensive Tackle	RETAINED
Ryan Wright	Punter	ADDED
Travis Etienne	Running Back	ADDED
Zach Wilson	Quarterback	ADDED
David Edwards	Guard	ADDED
Noah Fant	Tight End	ADDED
Kaden Ellis	Linebacker	ADDED
Dillon Radunz	Guard	RETAINED
DeMario Davis	Linebacker	LOST
Alontae Taylor	Defensive Back	LOST
Kai Kroger	Punter	LOST
Luke Fortner	Center	LOST
Jack Stoll	Tight End	LOST
Foster Moreau	Tight End	LOST

Alvin Kamara also agreed to a restructure that will keep him through the 26 season. Demario Davis was far and away the biggest loss but former divisional foe Kaden Ellis is a sneaky good replacement if you have to replace a guy like Davis.

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#DRAFT

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Round	Player	Position	School
1	Jordyn Tyson	Wide Receiver	Arizona State
2	Christen Miller	Defensive Tackle	Georgia
3	Oscar Delp	Tight End	Georgia
4	Jeremiah Wright	Guard	Auburn
4	Bryce Lance	Wide Receiver	North Dakota State
5	Lorenzo Styles Jr	Safety	Notre Dame
6	Barion Brown	Wide Receiver	Louisiana State
7	TJ Hall	Defensive Back	Iowa

Two things of note besides the obvious jump out at me in this draft class, I didn’t realize/forgot Bryce Lance went to NOLA. Don’t forget that name, people.

I have no idea who TJ Hall is truthfully but Iowa is DBU. Call me bullish on this dude too.

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#UDFA

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Player	Position	School
CJ Donaldson	Running Back	Ohio State
Alan Herron	Offensive Tackle	Maryland
Michael Heldman	EDGE	Central Michigan
Dashawn Jones	Defensive Back	Alabama
Keeshawn Silver	Defensive Line	Southern California
Mason Shipley	Kicker	Texas
Jay'Viar Suggs	Defensive Line	Wisconsin
Alex Wollschlaeger	Offensive Tackle	Kentucky
Cody Hardy	Tight End	North Carolina State

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#POSITIONAL BATTLES

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Far and away the wide receiver battles are going to be the main attraction in camp, and more than just Saints fans will be watching. Chances are high quality two and three guys are going to have to be let go or may be made available for trade so even if you are not a Saints fan if your team is starved at receiver depth you’ll want to watch this closely.

The Saints have a whopping 13 men signed at receiver right now. Olave and Tyson (rookie) lead the way at one and two and I already told you this is not a difficult offense to learn so expect Tyson to contribute immediately. DeVaughn Vele would appear to safely have the third spot, but hold your horses. Vele is a strong handed big bodied guy, but he enters his third year in the league out of Utah at the ripe old age of 28 (29 in December). With so many receivers added in the offseason I am smelling an odd man out that may surprise even Saints fans already.

Give me Chris Olave, Jordyn Tyson, Mason Tipton, Bryce Lance, and Barion Brown. Brown gets the edge for the last slot because of his potential as a returner for punts and kickoffs.

There is a competition at linebacker but if you have seen Kaden Ellis play, no there really isn’t.

Tight End is another very crowded room. I almost like Delp to solidify himself at TE 2 immediately behind Juwan Johnson but I would not be surprised if someone tried prying Johnson away as well this fall. He was a hot name at the trade deadline last year.

Give me Juwan Johnson, Oscar Delp, Noah Fant and Moliki Matavao.

Rotational depth at pass rusher is something every single team in the league is doing and the Saints are no exception, and if your team of choice is not I have bad news for you. These battles are never won outside of preseason games/joint practices and they always surprise so no sense in trying to predict them.

Maybe a kicker battle? The addition of Shipley is intriguing to say the least.

There is also technically a battle at QB2 but kind of like linebacker, no, there isn’t. It’s Zach Wilson.

Other positional battles I like:

Devin Neal solidifies himself as RB3.

David Edwards takes left guard to the surprise of no one.

I like rookie Jeremiah Wright over incumbent Cesar Ruiz and I know that might raise eyebrows. 2 words y’all: lateral agility. It is so key in Moore’s offense and Wright has it in spades while Ruiz can kind of struggle.

Rookie Christen Miller won’t outright win the Nose Tackle position but he will get a lot of rotational snaps.

Ok, I lied earlier, and I was purposefully quiet about the UDFA section for a reason. I am going to make a prediction about the rotational pass rush AND predict a UDFA to make the 53 soundly, and that is Central Michigan’s own Michael Heldman.

I know already that you have no idea who this is unless you’re a CMU fan. This is a big, long kid. Country strong. Wingspan like a fucking condor (6’7 wingspan at 6’3 height) Not super explosive off the ball but with his strength and limbs and technique he doesn’t need to be. Reminds me a lot of Maxx Crosby. Look for him to be a disruptive force in situational downs.

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#SCHEDULE AND PROJECTED RECORD

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Let’s be honest, this is what we are all here for, right? I went back and forth on this. I could really temper and play it safe, but you know, my name is on this. I have picked the season a few times over already and one constant I keep coming up with is a New Orleans Saints team that plays a home playoff game. I don’t want to sit here and pick a 6 to 9 win season just because that’s safe for a Reddit audience. So this is my no frills prognostication for the 2026 New Orleans Saints.

Let’s get to it:

@DET

We open with a BANGER, oh this is going to do a lot to set the tone for the season. This will be one of those certified “week one is crazy!” games because Detroit still gets treated like it is 2024 and people stopped watching the Saints after Thanksgiving last year. Detroit’s late season collapse, to my eyes, reflected more than injuries. The physical and emotional identity that separated them from the rest of the NFC in 2024 appeared diminished early and absent entirely late in 2025, and I question whether that edge can simply be turned back on in 2026. Two teams headed in the opposite direction and it will be the physicality Detroit lost somewhere in the last 18 months shown by the Saints who get this “stunning” road win in week one. W

@BAL

The Saints stay out on the road at 1-0 and are one of the major storylines in the very young NFL season and travel to Baltimore, where a lot of people will probably predict a loss. But Baltimore isn’t the same Ravens everyone has in their heads. They’ve just replaced a Hall of Fame coach. Harbaugh’s greatest strength was running the building. Minter may prove to be an excellent head coach, but replacing a Hall of Fame leader in your first season is a massive challenge, particularly one like Baltimore where strong personalities are already present. Week 2 is exactly when I’d want to play them before that staff has fully established itself. W

Reader note: I am aware that right now you are very surprised to see I have this team opening 2-0. In the most simple terms I can find, I simply believe the Saints are not a team who is going to be trying to figure out who they are in September. This group with this continuity on staff and roster, already did that. Baltimore and Detroit on the other hand… have some things to figure out.

LV

The “surprising” 2-0 Saints easily handle a Raiders team that will be going through some growing pains and an insane Superdome crowd celebrating their promising young team make life hell for the Raiders who are building a great foundation but little fruit will be picked this year. W

ATL

“They’re a fluke!” Says everyone while somehow still thinking themselves original. But at 3-0 the Saints will host a Falcons team facing many questions on Monday Night Football. I know you can’t ever predict it when these two play but something tells me that environment will be impossible for any opponent to walk into and win. W.

MIN

Dude, let me tell you right now, Staley’s defense is going to eat Kyler Murray alive. W.

@NYG

I actually like the Giants a lot this year. The Harbaugh effect is going to instantly make them a force to be reckoned with. This will be one of the premiere early season matchups. But at this point we have a team stacking wins and building belief in each other sitting at 5-0. And after this game, the hype will be through the roof. W

PIT (INTL)

Absolutely nothing like a fucking international game to throw you off a streak. L

The Saints go to the bye sitting at 6-1. Probably won’t be much “underdog” talk with them anymore. From here on the season will rest on Kellen’s ability to win with expectations.

CLE

Coming off their first loss and the bye week the Saints draw a Browns team that will probably be as Browns as ever. W

CAR

I think Kellen Moore made it pretty clear last year he knows how to solve these guys. W

@CHI

Yeah this is going to be a top offensive unit against one of if not the leakiest secondaries in the NFL. W

@CIN

I am expecting Cinci to be right at the top of the AFC and one of the Super Bowl favorites. Saints hang, but fall on the road to 9-2. L

GB

They turn around and host a Packers team that should have Parsons back at this point. Hard fought but Saints at home have the edge. W

@CAR

REDUX. W

@TB

“Fuck the Saints.” All the Baker Mayfield trash talking the show Quarterback showed us and it was this one, soft spoken line from him that will be most memorable. I don’t care if Tampa has 2 wins or 10 at this point in the season, they are winning this one. L

ARI

All logic points to a Saints win here where you’ll probably have a rookie in Carson Beck starting, Saints talking postseason tickets and all that, but with an Atlanta date looming and just what this time of year does to teams Saints drop this one too L.

@ATL

After dropping back to back games for the first time all year the voices will come back calling the Saints “frauds” and the voices will win for one week at least because the Saints lose their third straight to fall to 11-5. L

TB

Saints right the ship at home and are postseason bound as division champs. W

#PROJECTION 12-5, 1st in NFC South, 2 seed in the NFC.

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#CLOSING THOUGHTS

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Now, I have made it through this entire review without mentioning QB 1. It should go without saying that Tyler Shough’s traits, what he put to film once he took over last year, and how neatly he fits Moore’s QB friendly system (easy reads, layups and threes, playaction under center) give every reason to believe he’s ready for a significant leap in Year 2. He doesn’t have to be an MVP candidate, either. The addition of Travis Etienne as a true lead back will make the offense even more efficient and explosive by expanding the number of defensive structures Kellen Moore (and Tyler Shough) can attack.

But the real reason I’m bullish on the 2026 Saints is continuity. It’s rare for a young, promising team that finally found its footing in the second half of a season to return largely intact both on the roster and at coaching staff. The league usually poaches rising coordinators or key veterans the moment they sniff potential. But these Saints have been mostly left untouched. That stability, paired with targeted additions to strengthen an identity they already have been through the flames to forge is why I consistently end up with The Dome playing host once more to playoff football.

So to begin I think the season finale will feature the devastating “Yes, you accomplished your goals… and delivered me victory.”

The Boy in White obviously doesn’t want that tree pulled down. The Man in Yellow told Tabitha something terrible could be unleashed. I have another post detailing I think he is talking about himself. He is imprisoned by the town and tearing out the tree and digging up the bones will set him free.

Almost everyone in this sub seems to see the death flags radiating around Jade and are expecting to lose him.

I think th finale is going to be much, much more devastating and a lot of main characters, if not all of them, are going to perish.

But Julie is going to live.

I watched the pilot again last night and took notes. I won’t bore you with all of them, but there’s specific lines and scenes I think will play directly into the endgame:

“Listen to your Mom” One of the very first lines out of Boyd’s mouth.

“I would never break a promise.” one of the first words the monsters say.

Julie told Ethan an unpleasant story because she was forced to tell a story. her malicious compliance to get Ethan to ask her to stop telling the story feels PRETTY BIG.

“There are no such thing as monsters so Norman is still alive” Tabitha calms Ethan down by changing his world view. IT WORKS.

Jim mentions the time before Thomas’ death, and they find the tree.

“That’s a pretty selective storm”

The Ravens do not come until Ethan is placed on the tree

“She doesn’t change does she?” Weird line from Boyd about Fatima. Real weird line.

The following, I feel, is paramount: ** Group of ravens is called “an unkindness” “That doesn’t sound that bad” (Could names hold power? Could identifying and renaming the fear conquer it and the cause of fear lose its power over you?)**

Julie enjoys scaring Ethan with exaggerated and false stories. This feels big too.

“That’s the worst part. When you expect to find the road that takes you home. That’s the part that’s cruel” (this line is definitely coming into play in the finale Sunday because they think they are going home)

TABITHA SAYS TO JIM “Maybe it’s more of like a switchback like you merge getting on but then to get back you have to do a U turn to get back on the original road” (this feels like a massive indicator someone [Julie] is going to have to go back in the past for everyone to move forward.)

Jade’s first interactions are very very strange. Even if he’s on something. He is constantly looking at the sky and calls Boyd’s face “amazing”. That word choice feels very very specific.

Old man does not like Jade’s friend. Says it three times.

Jade calls Christie beautiful. Not in a lover boy way. Like a… proud way?

Again “Oh my god you’re all so beautiful”

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So that’s the cliff notes version. But I’ll come back to this one:

###“Maybe it’s more of like a switchback like you merge getting on but then to get back you have to do a U turn to get back on the original road”

This is where I think the finale will end. With everyone (or near everyone) dead but Julie and Julie realizes she has to go back and experience the past of this place to truly save everyone, and that is what season 5 is going to be. All the history of the town and the people that have been there and all the terrible things that have happened right down to the child sacrifice.

I know Ethan told Jade she can’t change the story, but what if she’s been part of the story this entire time?

What if this town is actually a prison?

What if the entity that took the form of a pastor’s daughter constantly mockingly quoting scripture and invoking God is a literal demon?

What if that literal demon was imprisoned by ancient occult practices that involved child sacrifices and the monsters that used to be the townspeople are less monsters and more people caught in an impossible scenario?

What if Jade and Tabitha refusing to partake meant they were not protected from the entity and he cursed them to come back over and over to his prison and try to, in their minds, right the wrongs of the past?

But what if by freeing the children, the gates to the prison are opened?

What if the man in yellow wants Jade and Tabitha to succeed but rules of the prison force him to only spectate their actions there?

What if he just messes with the other townspeople to pass the time in prison and there is no greater game or purpose to their being there besides that?

What if what he told Tabitha was true? That she could go home and she could unleash great suffering… release him.

What if he is closer than ever to being released back into the real world and everyone is unwittingly aiding him?

We have 12 episodes left but it feels like the mission into the tunnels is going to come to a head before that, so there has to be some kind of twist in this idea that freeing the children just lets everyone go back to their lives.

Now that it is finally official and production is underway I allowed myself to go back and watch The Batman knowing I am safe from another heartbreaking Firefly incident waiting for answers that never came. With the floodwaters receded and Gotham picking up the pieces, the ending leaves so many threads dangling seemingly ripe for sequel material: Joker and Riddler bonding in Arkham, a flooded and displaced city, a new young mayor in Bella Reál, Detective Martinez likely headed for a promotion after collaring Falcone and Riddler, a newly orphaned boy (likely setting up Robin or a surrogate), and a Batman who’s starting to understand the power of being a symbol of hope.

But the real direction is coming into focus with recent casting announcements and production updates. Notably, there’s been no official word yet on returns for Paul Dano’s Riddler or Barry Keoghan’s Joker. Now Dano is almost assuredly going to be a cameo in Part II at the very least, especially with where I suspect the story is headed, but Keoghan’s Joker is much more up in the air. He didn’t do well with test audiences and his big part was cut from the first film, they didn’t even bill him as Joker. So it is safe to say that little “tease” at the end of The Batman probably is not headed anywhere, at the very least in this next film.

What we do appear to have front and center along with Batman, Gordon, Penguin, Martinez, the mayor, and Alfred are the Dents. The Batman Part II swung big for this trio, in billing order (this is important) Scarlett Johansson, Sebastian Stan, and Charles Dance who are heavily rumored to be playing Gilda Dent, Harvey Dent, and Christopher Dent respectively.

Now, when you are making a follow up film and you make the choice to call it “Part II” instead of just The Batman 2 or a generic sequel subtitle, it tells you something. This isn’t another standalone adventure. It’s the next chapter in one continuous story that will be picking up directly from the consequences of Part I and deepening the world Reeves has built.

Now, this I believe is kind of a testimony to the type of writer Matt Reeves is, in that the most consequential revelation in The Batman is often overlooked because there are still 40 minutes left in the film after it happens and it just is not brought up again. In a standalone film that might be a bad thing, but where one continuous story is being told noir style it becomes fucking brilliant.

The crux of The Batman is Riddler helping Batman discover his parents were not wholly the people he thought them to be and everyone now knows Thomas Wayne had Edward Elliott, an investigative journalist, killed. That is the single most consequential revelation in The Batman. It stands to reason those consequences will resonate heavily in a film titled The Batman Part II.

Yet, the Dents are front and center.

So the question now becomes how do you combine all the elements we know will be present in this film in:

The tragedy of Harvey Dent

Hush/Elliott revenge

Gotham’s core corruption

Thomas Wayne’s sins and Bruce’s inherited cross

…without overcrowding this movie?

Well what’s a noir without a good ole fashioned femme fatale?

Imagine one woman who carries both the Dent name and the Elliott wound.

A woman who enters the story tied to Harvey Dent romantically and politically. Someone whose presence could accelerate Harvey’s fall, give voice to an Elliott family grudge that’s been simmering since Edward’s murder, and force Bruce Wayne to stare directly at the blood on his family name.

As separate story threads the film would be over ambitious and bogged down.

But when they share the same blood… suddenly everything tightens into one coiled, personal, devastating storyline.

So my theory is that second billed Scarlett Johansson is playing Gilda (Elliott) Dent as a femme fatale style Hush and the primary antagonist and story driver of The Batman Part II.

Thoughts?

That title might sound a little wonky at first, but I promise it’s crucial to this theory.

Now that it is finally official and production is underway I allowed myself to go back and watch The Batman knowing I am safe from another heartbreaking Firefly incident waiting for answers that never came. With the floodwaters receded and Gotham picking up the pieces, the ending leaves so many threads dangling seemingly ripe for sequel material: Joker and Riddler bonding in Arkham, a flooded and displaced city, a new young mayor in Bella Reál, Detective Martinez likely headed for a promotion after collaring Falcone and Riddler, a newly orphaned boy (likely setting up Robin or a surrogate), and a Batman who’s starting to understand the power of being a symbol of hope.

But the real direction is coming into focus with recent casting announcements and production updates. Notably, there’s been no official word yet on returns for Paul Dano’s Riddler or Barry Keoghan’s Joker. Now Dano is almost assuredly going to be a cameo in Part II at the very least, especially with where I suspect the story is headed, but Keoghan’s Joker is much more up in the air. He didn’t do well with test audiences and his big part was cut from the first film, they didn’t even bill him as Joker. So it is safe to say that little “tease” at the end of The Batman probably is not headed anywhere, at the very least in this next film.

What we do appear to have front and center along with Batman, Gordon, Penguin, Martinez, the mayor, and Alfred are the Dents. The Batman Part II swung big for this trio, in billing order (this is important) Scarlett Johansson, Sebastian Stan, and Charles Dance who are heavily rumored to be playing Gilda Dent, Harvey Dent, and Christopher Dent respectively.

Now let’s talk about my atrocious title, shall we? When you are making a follow up film and you make the choice to call it “Part II” instead of just The Batman 2 or a generic sequel subtitle, it tells you something. This isn’t another standalone adventure. It’s the next chapter in one continuous story that will be picking up directly from the consequences of Part I and deepening the world Reeves has built.

Now, this I believe is kind of a testimony to the type of writer Matt Reeves is, in that the most consequential revelation in The Batman is often overlooked because there are still 40 minutes left in the film after it happens and it just is not brought up again. In a standalone film that might be a bad thing, but where one continuous story is being told noir style it becomes fucking brilliant.

The crux of The Batman is Riddler helping Batman discover his parents were not wholly the people he thought them to be and everyone now knows Thomas Wayne had Edward Elliott, an investigative journalist, killed. That is the single most consequential revelation in The Batman. It stands to reason those consequences will resonate heavily in a film titled The Batman Part II.

Yet, the Dents are front and center.

So the question now becomes how do you combine all the elements we know will be present in this film in:

The tragedy of Harvey Dent

Hush/Elliott revenge

Gotham’s core corruption

Thomas Wayne’s sins and Bruce’s inherited cross

…without overcrowding this movie?

Well what’s a noir without a good ole fashioned femme fatale?

Imagine one woman who carries both the Dent name and the Elliott wound.

A woman who enters the story tied to Harvey Dent romantically and politically. Someone whose presence could accelerate Harvey’s fall, give voice to an Elliott family grudge that’s been simmering since Edward’s murder, and force Bruce Wayne to stare directly at the blood on his family name.

As separate story threads the film would be over ambitious and bogged down.

But when they share the same blood… suddenly everything tightens into one coiled, personal, devastating storyline.

So my theory is that second billed Scarlett Johansson is playing Gilda (Elliott) Dent as a femme fatale style Hush and the primary antagonist and story driver of The Batman Part II.

Thoughts?