The Batman Part II Has Recruited A Second Beloved Marvel Actor

It's the Winter Soldier and Black Widow team-up superhero fans have been waiting for — the only thing is, this is going down in a DC Studios blockbuster instead. What a time to be alive. While James Gunn continues to build up his new DC Universe from the ground up with "Superman" and this year's "Supergirl," talented writer/director Matt Reeves is putting the wheels in motion for his parallel franchise with "The Batman Part II." Fans of the Robert Pattinson-led sequel have had to exercise a little bit of patience in the years since 2022's "The Batman" first debuted to rave reviews, waiting for Reeves to finally put the finishing touches on his script for the Caped Crusader's next outing. The first major casting news arrived with the shocker that Scarlett Johansson would be joining the ensemble in an undisclosed role. Now, it's another Marvel star's turn in the form of Sebastian Stan.

Deadline has revealed that Stan is currently "in talks" to join the highly-anticipated "Batman" sequel for a role that — stop me if you've heard this before — remains unknown at this point. Should the actor sign on the dotted line, this would merely be the latest surprise for a film that seems to be courting as much name-brand talent as possible. Unconfirmed rumors have swirled for months that A-listers from Brad Pitt to Oscar Isaac have been eyed for "Part II," leaving us all to speculate whether that role went to Stan instead. Of course, he has plenty of experience in the superhero world after portraying Bucky Barnes in the Marvel Cinematic Universe since 2011's "Captain America: The First Avenger" and most recently in "Thunderbolts*" last year.

As for who Stan might be playing in "The Batman Part II?" Well, that's the question of the day.

Should he make the leap from the MCU all the way to Gotham City, nobody could accuse Sebastian Stan of taking his foot off the gas pedal lately. The actor has certainly kept himself busy outside of the franchise machine in recent years, earning plenty of acclaim for roles in projects such as "I, Tonya," Hulu's "Pam & Tommy" miniseries, 2024's Oscar hopeful "A Different Man," and even portraying Donald Trump in the less-than-flattering "The Apprentice" biopic. Jumping ship over to Matt Reeves' prestigious "The Batman" property feels like just the latest move towards genuine character actor territory for Stan, and it's one that we're pretty excited to see play out on the big screen.

So, which character might he be depicting, you ask? There's no official word on that just yet, but we have our guesses. Variety has noted that Barry Keoghan is expected to reprise his role as the Joker in "Part II," paying off his brief cameo in the waning moments of the original film. (Get it? Wayne? Never mind.) Similarly, Colin Farrell is confirmed for at least a small supporting role as the Penguin, Oz Cobb, as well. With all of these villains potentially lurking in the sequel, combined with rumors continuing to swirl that Scarlett Johansson may be portraying the wife of one Harvey Dent, well, you can see where we're going with this. Could Stan be our newest version of the legendary baddie Two-Face? Only time will tell, but, if so, this sure seems like pitch-perfect casting.

Unfortunately, we'll have plenty of time to imagine how this could play out. "The Batman Part II" is scheduled to hit theaters October 1, 2027.