A crowd scene can say more than a trailer. New set photos and videos from Matt Reeves’ The Batman: Part 2, which is shooting in London, show Gotham on the edge of revolt. They also hint at two villains fans have been guessing about for months: the Court of Owls and Anarky.
The footage, first shared online over the weekend of September 13, 2026, centers on a large protest. Robert Pattinson’s Bruce Wayne pushes through a sea of angry extras with Gotham City Police Department officers on either side. It’s a telling image: the billionaire is the one who needs protecting from the city he secretly guards every night.
What the signs say
The protesters’ placards carry most of the story. Among the slogans spotted on set:
- “Court of Oligarchs”
- “Court of Fouls”
- “Eat the Rich”
- “The Richer Get Richer”
The repeated word “Court” is what excites comic fans. The Court of Owls, a secret society of wealthy Gotham citizens who quietly rule the city from the shadows, debuted in Scott Snyder’s New 52 Batman run, and fans have long tipped it as the sequel’s villain. That fits a hint Reeves dropped in September 2025 on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, when he said the sequel’s antagonist has “never really been done in a movie before.”
A shadowy club of old money would also suit the protest scene and the themes of the first film. In 2022’s The Batman, Bruce was already wrestling with his family’s status and what he owes Gotham outside the cowl. A city that loves Batman but hates Bruce Wayne gives the sequel a strong starting point.
A masked radical in the crowd
The second surprise is harder to miss. One protester wears a white mask and a jacket marked with the anarchy symbol, an almost exact copy of Anarky’s look in the comics. Anarky, real name Lonnie Machin, is one of Batman’s most political enemies. He wants corrupt institutions overthrown, which would set him against the Court of Owls and against Bruce Wayne as a face of Gotham’s wealthy elite.
The character has shown up in the video game Batman: Arkham Origins and in The CW’s Arrow, but never on the big screen. That also fits Reeves’ “never been done” line, and it suggests the sequel may carry more than one big villain.
Where the sequel stands
Set photos from the same shoot also showed Jeffrey Wright, who plays Jim Gordon, filming alongside Pattinson. Scarlett Johansson and Sebastian Stan are among the newcomers, and Reeves co-wrote the script with Mattson Tomlin. The film has been delayed several times. In July 2026, Warner Bros. moved it from October 1, 2027 to February 18, 2028, its third date change. Until that premiere, handmade protest signs remain the best clues fans have.
