A rumored Sebastian Stan casting in The Batman Part II would be exciting no matter which character he plays, but there is one Batman villain who could make far better use of his talents than Harvey Dent. Rumors surrounding Matt Reeves’ Gotham City universe have continued to circulate during the long wait for The Batman Part II. While nothing has been officially confirmed regarding Stan’s character in The Batman Part II, online discussions and rumors have suggested he will play DC‘s Two-Face.

Stan has spent more than a decade proving himself as one of the most versatile performers working in blockbuster filmmaking, balancing dramatic material, action-heavy roles, and psychologically complex characters throughout the MCU and projects such as Pam & Tommy, Fresh, and A Different Man.

The challenge facing Reeves’ Batman franchise is that expectations are now significantly higher than they were in 2022. The Batman successfully established a grounded Gotham filled with corruption, serial killers, organized crime, and morally compromised institutions. With Robert Pattinson’s Dark Knight already confronting the Riddler, the sequel has an opportunity to explore different corners of Batman mythology rather than simply revisiting familiar territory.

That is why the discussion surrounding Stan’s potential role is particularly interesting. Harvey Dent remains one of Batman’s greatest supporting characters and eventual villains, but audiences have already seen multiple major live-action interpretations of Two-Face. If Reeves is looking for a character who could feel fresh within his crime-thriller approach while giving Stan more room to surprise viewers, Victor Zsasz may be the stronger option.

Sebastian Stan Is A Safe (& Good) Pick For Harvey Dent

There is a reason so many immediately connect Sebastian Stan with Harvey Dent. On paper, it is an excellent casting choice. Stan has the charisma, intelligence, and dramatic range necessary to portray Gotham’s idealistic district attorney. Dent traditionally begins as one of Batman’s strongest allies, a public servant genuinely attempting to clean up the city through legal means.

That requires an actor capable of projecting confidence, integrity, and leadership before eventually descending into tragedy. Stan can clearly deliver all of those qualities. His performance as Bucky Barnes throughout the MCU demonstrates his ability to portray a character wrestling with trauma, guilt, and fractured identity. Harvey Dent’s eventual transformation into Two-Face similarly revolves around psychological conflict and internal division. It is easy to understand why people would see parallels between the two characters.

In fact, that familiarity may be the biggest argument against the casting. While Stan would almost certainly give audiences a compelling Harvey Dent, it does not feel especially unexpected. The role aligns closely with strengths he has already demonstrated throughout his career. A handsome, respected public figure gradually struggling with darker impulses is territory he has explored before.

The problem is not that Stan would fail as Dent. Quite the opposite. He would probably be excellent. The issue is that it feels somewhat predictable. Christopher Nolan has already delivered an acclaimed Harvey Dent storyline with Aaron Eckhart in The Dark Knight. The character’s rise and fall remains one of the most celebrated arcs in superhero cinema. Any new version would inevitably be compared to Nolan’s rendition.

For a franchise that has built its reputation on presenting familiar Batman mythology through a different lens, choosing Stan as Harvey Dent risks feeling like the safest possible move. Good casting does not always equal the most interesting casting.

Sebastian Stan As Victor Zsasz Would Be Less Predictable & Even More Fun

Victor Zsasz presents an entirely different opportunity. Unlike Harvey Dent, Zsasz would allow Stan to push far beyond audience expectations and explore territory that feels genuinely unsettling. The character is one of Batman’s most disturbing adversaries: a serial killer who carves a mark into his own skin for every victim he claims.

That premise alone fits naturally within the grounded crime-horror atmosphere Reeves established in The Batman. More importantly, Zsasz would free Stan from many of the expectations attached to Harvey Dent. Audiences already know the broad outline of Dent’s story. They understand where the character eventually ends up and what major beats typically define his journey. Zsasz comes with far fewer restrictions.

Stan has repeatedly shown that he excels when given opportunities to embrace eccentric, uncomfortable, and unpredictable material. His performances in Fresh and A Different Man demonstrate a willingness to take creative risks that many blockbuster actors avoid. Those projects highlighted an unpredictability that often remains hidden beneath his MCU work.

A character like Zsasz could tap directly into those strengths. Rather than portraying a respected public official slowly descending into villainy, Stan could fully embrace the chaotic psychology of an already broken individual. He could create a version of Zsasz that feels terrifying, charismatic, and deeply unsettling all at once.

The Reeves universe also tends to emphasize grounded criminal behavior over comic-book spectacle. A serial killer operating within Gotham’s underworld feels entirely consistent with the franchise’s tone. Zsasz could easily function as both a psychological threat and a physical danger without requiring supernatural elements or elaborate science-fiction concepts.

Victor Zsasz Deserves A True Batman Movie Appearance

Another major advantage of casting Stan as Zsasz is what it could do for the character himself. Despite being one of Batman’s most recognizable street-level villains, Victor Zsasz has never received a truly significant role in a major Batman film. He has appeared briefly in movies such as Batman Begins and Birds of Prey, but those appearances barely scratched the surface of the character’s potential.

Television has arguably treated him better. Anthony Carrigan’s portrayal in Gotham remains one of the show’s strongest villain performances. Carrigan captured the character’s unpredictability, dark humor, and dangerous instability while turning him into a fan favorite across multiple seasons.

The character embodies many of the themes that make Batman compelling. He is not a world-conquering mastermind or a cosmic threat. He is a human monster whose existence highlights Gotham’s deepest social and psychological failures. His crimes are personal, intimate, and horrifying in ways that fit perfectly within detective-focused Batman stories.

Casting an actor of Stan’s caliber would almost guarantee that Zsasz receives substantial screen time and narrative importance. It would finally give Zsasz the cinematic spotlight he has long deserved. As The Batman franchise is built around exploring Gotham’s darker corners, elevating an underused villain while giving Sebastian Stan a chance to deliver one of the most unpredictable performances of his career feels like a far more exciting prospect than revisiting Harvey Dent yet again in The Batman Part II.