Madeline Petsch Wants to Go Full Poison Ivy in The Batman Part II — Men Beware, Earth First

James Gunn has his DCU train finally leaving the station — Superman is the kickoff, with Supergirl and a Clayface project on deck — and that means we’re entering the season where actors start publicly raising their hands. Today’s volunteer: Riverdale and The Strangers lead Madelaine Petsch, who very much wants to go full eco-terrorist as Poison Ivy. She’s aiming at Matt Reeves’s The Batman Part II, but she’s also open to popping up anywhere else in the DCU if that’s where Ivy ends up living.

Madelaine Petsch shoots her shot

Petsch has been campaigning the old-fashioned way: costumes and a little playful pestering. She dressed as Poison Ivy for Halloween a while back, posted it on Instagram, and has been nudging the right people ever since. When asked where things stand, she didn’t play coy.

"We’re working on it. I dressed up as Poison Ivy. Many Halloweens ago, just to get their attention. It’s like, 'Hey, Matt Reeves, are we paying attention?' They haven’t made the movie yet, so who knows?"

Translation: she and her team are lobbying, because of course they are. And honestly, she has the look and the bite for Pamela Isley. The question is less about Petsch and more about where this character actually fits.

Would Poison Ivy work in Reeves’s universe?

Reeves’s Gotham is gritty, wet, and mostly grounded. Poison Ivy’s whole deal — pheromone control and weaponized plant life — is a jump toward the fantastical. Not impossible, but it would be a tonal stretch.

On Gunn’s side, though? Ivy could absolutely thrive, especially if they lean into a horror-tinged angle. There’s already an upcoming Clayface feature in the pipeline, with Tom Rhys Harries set to play Matt Hagen, so the door is open for characters with weirder power sets. I’ll keep banging this drum: an Emerald Fennell-directed Poison Ivy movie would be nasty, stylish, and very fun.

Where The Batman Part II seems to be headed

Reeves recently told MTV’s Josh Horowitz at the Emmys that the sequel’s villain is something that, as he put it, has "never really been done in a movie before." He also teased that the ending of The Batman and what happens in The Penguin series set the table for where Bruce goes next. The creative north star remains Robert Pattinson’s Bruce Wayne; if Reeves gets to make a trilogy, he wants the films built around Bruce rather than turning into pure rogues-gallery showcases. The villain choice, he says, is designed to dig into Bruce’s past and push him further, not just check a box for a fan-favorite baddie.

• Names fans keep tossing around: Hush, and Andrea Beaumont aka the Phantasm. Worth noting: Mask of the Phantasm is technically a movie, which bumps up against that whole "never been done" tease.

So, Petsch as Ivy — where should she land?

If Reeves decides to bend the realism a bit, Ivy could be a wild swing in The Batman Part II or beyond. If not, Gunn’s DCU feels tailor-made for her — and for Petsch’s particular mix of charm and menace. Either way, she’s made it very clear she’s ready to sprout some vines the second someone says go.

What do you think: should Petsch be Ivy? And does Ivy belong in Reeves’s rain-soaked Gotham or Gunn’s larger DCU sandbox?