Cameras may be rolling on The Batman Part II, but the movie remains shrouded in secrecy. We don't know who any of the new additions to Matt Reeves' Bat-Verse are playing, including MCU veteran Sebastian Stan.
When the actor was first linked to the sequel, reports pointed to Harvey Dent, with various pieces of apparent supporting evidence emerging afterwards. A makeup artist's social media activity was among the clues pointing to the Thunderbolts* star playing Gotham's future Two-Face. There was also speculation that Scarlett Johansson could be playing Dent's wife, Gilda, while Charles Dance was linked to his father, Christopher.
Suddenly, everything was turned on its head when insider Jeff Sneider reported that Stan had really been cast as Victor Zsasz, the sadistic serial killer who carves tally marks into his skin for each murder. The same report claimed Brian Tyree Henry would be Harvey Dent, throwing months of speculation into doubt.
Stan's appearance only added fuel to the fire, as he was spotted with a shaved head, a look that immediately made the Zsasz theory seem more convincing. Still, that's hardly definitive evidence, and his haircut has also been connected to his work on Fjord.
This week, however, Stan himself seemingly ended the mystery. During a recent interview with French publication Le Journal du Dimanche, the actor was discussing the secrecy surrounding Avengers: Doomsday when, after claiming he couldn't say anything about The Batman Part II, Stan definitively stated that he's playing Harvey Dent.
The quote has since been removed, with the reference to Stan playing Harvey Dent now deleted. Stan was supposedly misquoted, which is possible, but that's a pretty major misquote, and this feels a lot like panicked reps ordering the site to remove a potentially major spoiler for The Batman sequel.
Was the apparent confirmation deliberately planted to throw fans off the scent? It's possible. If Stan really is Harvey Dent, revealing that now would take away some of the fun surrounding one of Batman's most important characters. If he’s Zsasz, meanwhile, allowing everyone to believe he's Dent could be the perfect smokescreen. Ultimately, we still don't know.
The Harvey Dent evidence is certainly compelling, but so is the Zsasz speculation. And until Reeves is ready to reveal what he has planned for Stan, we'll remain in the dark. Two-Face and Victor Zsasz are both compelling possibilities, and the truth could be a real shocker; for all we know, the Bucky Barnes actor may be playing an amalgamation of both characters. Reeves' Gotham is unique, and not entirely comic-accurate.
Directed by Matt Reeves from a script by him and Mattson Tomlin, The Batman Part II stars Robert Pattinson, Scarlett Johansson, Sebastian Stan, Colin Farrell, Andy Serkis, Jeffrey Wright, Charles Dance, Jayme Lawson, Gil Perez-Abraham, Sebastian Koch, and Brian Tyree Henry.
The Batman Part II is set to be released in theaters on February 18, 2028.