The latest news is that Sebastian Stan, the actor who etched emotional scars into the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Bucky Barnes/The Winter Soldier, is in talks to join Matt Reeves’ sequel to The Batman, which has been officially titled The Batman Part II per Variety
This more than just a casting announcement. It’s an audible bang in the casting landscape as one of Marvel’s most recognisable talents crossing over into DC’s noir-infused Batverse.
What we know is that the core of The Batman lineup is returning. Robert Pattinson will again don the cape and cowl as Bruce Wayne/Batman, diving deeper into the grim crime labyrinth Reeves conjured in the 2022 original. Standouts like Colin Farrell’s Penguin, Jeffrey Wright’s Jim Gordon and Andy Serkis’ Alfred are slated to reprise their roles. Barry Keoghan is expected to re-emerge as a Joker-adjacent figure, setting up further chaos in Gotham. And joining that core ensemble is Scarlett Johansson in a key undisclosed part, making Stan the second big-name comic-verse transfer after her.
So who might Stan play? Here’s where things get deliciously speculative. Neither DC nor the filmmakers have confirmed which role Stan might take on, and we have to wonder whether he’ll be friend, foe or something delightfully unsettling in between.
That said, industry chatter and insider posts point strongly toward Harvey Dent who is Gotham’s tragic district attorney whose descent into Two-Face is lore of mythic proportions. If those rumours steer true, casting Stan as Dent/Two-Face would echo Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight in thematic weight, but Reeves’ world could take that arc into grimmer new territory. Less comic-book flamboyance and more psychological crime chronicle.
In unpacking the subtext it is clear that Stan’s reputation has shifted. Once the reliable right-hand man in the MCU, he’s moved into Oscar-nominated territory with complex, transformative roles outside the superhero frame. His chemistry with Pattinson isn’t theoretical. The two worked together in The Devil All the Time (2020), a violent psychological tapestry that hinted at how they might torque tension on a larger scale. And this move speaks to something bigger in franchise casting where actors are no longer bound to one comic book universe. The walls between these worlds are more porous than ever, and that creative turbulence might be exactly what a Batman sequel which has already been teased as an “epic crime saga” needs.
The Batman Part II is locked in for an October 1, 2027 release, with production anticipated to start in spring 2026. As for Stan, while the negotiations are ongoing and nothing is official until contracts are signed, this feels like the Gotham casting bomb that will echo through fan theories and social feeds for weeks. Once studios comment on the roles, we’ll unpack what this means for the Batverse’s evolving tone and its interplay with the wider DC cinematic roadmap.
