The Batman Part Ii Rumors Reveal Sebastian Stan's Real Role (and Who's Actually Playing Harvey Dent)

Marvel Studios

"The Batman Part II" is officially in production, but details about the story have been guarded so far. For instance, on May 14, director Matt Reeves posted a string of tweets welcoming new cast members to the movie, but he didn't specify which characters the actors are playing.

Back in January, it was reported that Sebastian Stan would be playing Harvey Dent, Gotham City's District Attorney and the future Two-Face. This spun further speculation about the casting; that Scarlett Johansson was playing Harvey's wife, Gilda, and that Charles Dance would be his abusive father, Christopher Dent. But now, a new report from scooper Jeff Sneider throws this all into doubt.

Sneider claims that Sebastian Stan is actually playing the serial killer Victor Zsasz. One of Batman's most sadistic villains, Zsasz lacks a costume or dual identity, but is still distinguished by his habit of carving tally marks of his victims onto his own flesh. But there might be a role for Two-Face yet; Sneider also claims that Brian Tyree Henry, confirmed to be cast in the movie by Reeves, is playing Harvey Dent.

Sneider, who claims that this sequel is another serial killer murder mystery like 2022's "The Batman," cited Reeves' comments back in September 2025 that the villain of "The Batman Part II" has "never really been done in a movie before." Zsasz appeared in a very minor part in "Batman Begins" played by Tim Booth, as well as in 2020's "Birds of Prey," played by Chris Messina, but that version was not a serial killer, only a buffoonish henchman of Roman Sionis/Black Mask (Ewan McGregor).

Sneider's argument follows that Reeves' movie could be the first proper, terrifying take on Victor Zsasz as portrayed in the comics. That said, Reeves might've been talking more literally about another villain altogether.

Warner Bros.

Jeff Sneider also claims in his report that one of his sources claimed Charles Dance and Scarlett Johansson's characters will be "meld[s]" of many Batman characters. Others supposedly claimed their characters' identities would be revealing too much.

Sneider adds that he has been told that "The Batman Part II" will feature the Court of Owls, a society of Gotham aristocrats who've controlled the city for centuries. The Court were created in 2011 by writer Scott Snyder (who is currently redefining the Court in "Absolute Batman") and artist Greg Capullo.

No Batman movie has touched the Court yet, but they're fan favorite villains. Bringing them in would also make sense as a next step after "The Batman," which was all about Bruce Wayne (Robert Pattinson) investigating a history of corruption in Gotham; the purpose of the Court of Owls is to show Batman he doesn't know his city as well as he thinks he does. Sneider speculates that both Dance and Johansson's characters could be Court of Owls members, but that appears to be conjecture on his part.

Keep in mind, this supposed casting is just a rumor. Sebastian Stan previously told Deadline in May that he is playing "many roles" in "The Batman Part II." That wording seems to suggest Two-Face, who is afflicted by a split personality. It also works narratively speaking; Harvey Dent usually begins as an ally to Batman, then turns into a villain. For what it's worth, Reeves confirmed Stan's casting with a tweet captioned "In a Gotham state of mind...", which could point to either Two-Face or Zsasz, both famously unstable villains.

"The Batman Part II" is scheduled for theatrical release on October 1, 2027.