Sebastian Stan Officially Confirms His The Batman: Part II Character (And It Settles a Fan Debate)
Like most comic book movie sequels, The Batman: Part II is expanding its franchise’s roster of characters with some high-profile additions to the cast. Among the many notable newcomers to director Matt Reeves’ Batman Epic Crime Saga is Sebastian Stan, whose character has unsurprisingly been subject to much speculation. After Stan was cast, the most prevalent rumor was that he was playing Harvey Dent, but later reports indicated that Stan was actually portraying the villainous Victor Zsasz, while Brian Tyree Henry would bring Gotham’s famous district attorney to life. After months of theories and rumors spreading like wildfire, Stan has finally confirmed who he is playing in The Batman: Part II.
In an interview with the French outlet Le Journal du Dimanche, Stan was asked about his role in the upcoming Avengers: Doomsday, and he revealed he didn’t have much to share because the actors never received full scripts and instead “were just shooting scattered scenes.” He then voluntarily compared the experience to The Batman: Part II. “I also can’t say anything about The Batman: Part II, by Matt Reeves, where I play Harvey Dent,” he said.
How Harvey Dent Can Fit Into The Batman: Part II
This is admittedly a surprising way to learn which character Stan is playing in the highly anticipated sequel. Right before revealing he’s the new Harvey Dent, Stan stated that he’s “been following this rule [preserving blockbuster secrets] for 15 years,” a reference to his extended tenure in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. When it comes to big franchises like the MCU and Batman, the studios like to control the information rollout as much as possible, sharing new details on their terms. As The Batman: Part II geared up to start production, Reeves confirmed the new cast members (including Stan) but stopped short of revealing who the actor was playing. Stan’s quote may have upended plans Warner Bros. had for a big reveal. Of course, there exists the possibility Stan was trolling in his response, winkingly acknowledging the rumors. Additionally, something might have gotten lost in translation in the original exchange. However, for the time being, until someone involved with The Batman: Part II comes out and says otherwise, this is what we have to go off of.
It’s mildly amusing to see Stan spill this nugget literally right after he commented on his ability to keep Marvel secrets under wraps, but this isn’t the worst The Batman: Part II “spoiler” that Stan could have shared. He didn’t say anything specific about the story, just that he’s playing Harvey. It isn’t the biggest surprise that Harvey Dent is part of a franchise dubbed the Batman Epic Crime Saga; as Gotham’s district attorney, Dent is committed to putting the city’s criminals behind bars. Whether it’s cracking down on Penguin’s growing underworld empire or putting a stop to the rumored Court of Owls, there’s an obvious role for Harvey to play in this series even before we get to his eventual transformation into Two-Face. A villainous turn is likely in the cards for Harvey; Reeves probably wouldn’t use Dent in his franchise unless he had plans for Two-Face at some point.
Now that we know Stan is playing Dent, it raises questions about other The Batman: Part II rumors that have circulated. Dent’s fellow MCU veteran Scarlett Johansson has also been cast in the film; early speculation indicated she was playing Gilda Dent, Harvey’s wife. More recent fan theories suggested she would portray a more grounded iteration of famous Batman villain Poison Ivy, but nothing official on this front has been revealed yet. Dent being a part of the film (whether it was Stan or Henry) always lent credence to the Gilda rumor. It’ll be interesting to see who Henry is playing. Some people think his character is Man-Bat, but that’s likely a product of fans reading too much into Reeves’ social media posts when he announced the sequel’s cast.
It remains to be seen if Barry Keoghan’s Joker will appear in The Batman: Part II, but Harvey Dent appearing in a Batman movie sequel could open comparisons to The Dark Knight. That movie is nearly 20 years old now, but it still resonates with audiences as one of the greatest comic book adaptations ever made. Reeves’ film can differentiate itself from Christopher Nolan’s masterpiece by showing viewers another side of Harvey. Characters such as Gilda Dent and Christopher Dent (Harvey’s father) weren’t in The Dark Knight, so Reeves can explore new dynamics and relationships that moviegoers may not be overly familiar with.
