He played a Marvel hero for 15 years. Now Sebastian Stan is Batman’s biggest villain

Sebastian Stan has confirmed he will play Harvey Dent in Matt Reeves’ upcoming sequel ‘The Batman: Part II’. Stan spoke about the film while promoting his Palme d’Or-winning movie ‘Fjord’ at the Cannes Film Festival. He responded to online speculation about his role as Harvey Dent and his transformation into Two-Face, one of Batman’s best-known antagonists.

Stan confirmed he will play Harvey Dent in director Matt Reeves’ highly anticipated sequel and plans to begin shooting the film in London over the coming months. He told Deadline he will soon be in London over the summer and that he will play “many roles in this one.” The comment is widely understood as a reference to Dent’s dual identity as both a lawman and a criminal.

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Stan said of the role: “I’m excited, I’m nervous and trying to keep surprising myself.” He is already working with the hair and makeup teams, who have devised how his character’s disfigurement will look.

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Who is Harvey Dent?

Harvey Dent is Gotham City’s District Attorney, meaning he is the top lawyer in charge of fighting crime. In the comics and previous films, Dent is known as a hero who works with Batman to clean up the streets. The character descends into madness after underworld figure Sal “Boss” Maroni hurls acid in his face. The attack leaves half his face badly scarred, and Dent splits into a criminal alter ego known as Two-Face, who makes decisions by flipping a coin.

Two-Face has appeared in multiple Batman films before. Tommy Lee Jones played the character in ‘Batman Forever’ (1995) and Aaron Eckhart portrayed him in Christopher Nolan’s ‘The Dark Knight’ (2008). Stan’s version will be the first iteration of the character in this particular DC continuity, which Reeves launched with the 2022 film.

From Marvel to DC

This project marks Stan’s DC debut after spending the last 15 years playing Bucky Barnes/The Winter Soldier in the MCU for Marvel Studios. Stan is one of several actors in the new film who previously worked for Marvel. Scarlett Johansson, also a former Marvel star, has been cast in the film alongside Stan.

Stan previously earned a Best Actor Oscar nomination for portraying a young Donald Trump in ‘The Apprentice’. He has built a reputation for choosing diverse and challenging roles across major franchises, balancing big studio blockbusters with smaller independent films.

In a Deadline interview, Stan described the sequel as “a challenge, like everything else,” adding: “I feel like it’s a really ambitious movie and I think if we do it all right, and obviously I’m so excited about Matt Reeves directing because he’s been one of my favourites for a long, long time. I really think it’s going to blow people away. It’s going to surprise a lot of people, I think, too.”

Director confirms casting publicly

Director Matt Reeves confirmed Stan’s casting on X by posting: “In a Gotham state of mind… Welcome.” Reeves made this announcement as part of a series of cast reveals he posted on social media in the weeks leading up to production.

Reeves confirmed Scarlett Johansson’s casting by posting a gif of her in the 2013 film ‘Under the Skin’ and writing “Next exit, Gotham… Welcome.” Johansson is reported to be playing Gilda Dent, Harvey Dent’s wife. In the comics, Gilda eventually becomes the serial killer Holiday in one of the most celebrated Batman stories, ‘The Long Halloween.’

Full cast revealed

The returning cast includes Robert Pattinson as Bruce Wayne/Batman, Jeffrey Wright as Jim Gordon, Andy Serkis as Alfred, and Colin Farrell as The Penguin/Oz Cobb. Jayme Lawson returns as Mayor Bella Reál, and Gil Perez-Abraham returns as Officer Martinez.

Among the new additions, Charles Dance from ‘Game of Thrones’ has been cast, along with Brian Tyree Henry, who appeared in ‘Joker’ and ‘Eternals’, and Sebastian Koch, the German actor known for ‘Homeland’ and ‘A Good Day to Die Hard’. Dance is believed to be playing Charles Dent, Harvey Dent’s father.

Speculation is also rife that Barry Keoghan will return as the Joker, but he was not officially announced by Reeves. Zoë Kravitz, who played Selina Kyle in the first film, is not returning for the sequel.

Reeves co-wrote the film with Mattson Tomlin, who worked uncredited on the script for the first film. Erik Messerschmidt takes over as cinematographer from Greig Fraser. James Gunn and Peter Safran are producers for DC Studios, alongside Dylan Clark.

Production details

Production on the sequel is due to start later this summer, with filming taking place in England. Reeves shared a first look at the film on May 7, with production undergoing camera tests with the Batmobile. Through his update, it was confirmed that the 2027 entry will take place during winter.

There is some online debate about whether Stan’s transformation into Two-Face will be completed in this film or reserved for a third installment. There is speculation that Stan might not fully transform into Two-Face until Part III. Stan’s own comment about playing “many roles” in the film suggests at minimum that Dent’s dual nature will be a central part of the story.

Background: The first film

‘The Batman’ released in March 2022 and starred Robert Pattinson as a younger Bruce Wayne and Jeffrey Wright as Gotham City police lieutenant Jim Gordon, who investigated a series of murders carried out by the Riddler, portrayed by Paul Dano. The film received largely positive reviews from critics and made $772 million worldwide.

Reports of Stan joining the sequel first emerged on January 6, 2026. Trade outlets said he was in talks to join the cast alongside Pattinson, Wright, Farrell, and others.

Release date

‘The Batman: Part II’ is scheduled for release on October 1, 2027, having originally been earmarked for 2026.

The delay was partly attributed to the 2023 Hollywood union strikes which pushed back production timelines.