UPDATE 8/19: Via The Wrap: “According to two insiders, Stan was misquoted, and the French publication has since updated their misprint in the online article.”
Sebastian Stan says he’s playing Harvey Dent in The Batman: Part II. We’ve heard that before.
Speaking to French Sunday paper Le Journal du Dimanche, Stan was asked what he could reveal about Avengers: Doomsday. He explained Marvel’s secrecy before bringing up Matt Reeves’ Batman sequel.
Stan said he also can’t discuss The Batman: Part II, “where I play Harvey Dent.”
It’s the first time the role has come directly from Stan.
Jeff Sneider, however, isn’t backing down from his June report claiming Stan is actually playing serial killer Victor Zsasz.
Why the Timing of Stan’s Harvey Dent Comment Matters
The timing makes the situation more interesting.
Le Journal du Dimanche conducted the interview during the Cannes Film Festival in May, when Stan and Renate Reinsve were promoting Cristian Mungiu’s Fjord, which went on to win the Palme d’Or. The interview was only published now.
Sneider reported Stan was playing Zsasz on June 12. Cannes ran May 12–23.
If the interview was conducted during Cannes, Stan couldn’t have been trying to counter Sneider’s Zsasz scoop because the report didn’t exist yet.
The interview also happened around the same time as Stan’s Deadline comments about playing “many roles in this one” and already working with the hair and makeup teams on his character’s disfigurement.
Stan’s Shaved Head Was for Fjord, Not Batman
Stan’s shaved head has been one of the biggest arguments for Zsasz.
Zsasz is traditionally bald, while Harvey Dent isn’t.
However, Stan shaved his head for Fjord at Mungiu’s request. The director has said he thought Stan was too good-looking to play Mihai, an ordinary Romanian father, so production tested the bald look on a stand-in recruited through an Instagram ad in Norway. Stan also wore fake teeth and glasses.
Fjord wrapped in Norway in late 2025.
The Batman: Part II didn’t begin filming at Warner Bros. Leavesden until June 2026.
We pointed this out in June: the haircut never proved Stan was playing Zsasz. Now we know where it actually came from.
Jeff Sneider Still Says Stan Is Victor Zsasz
Sneider spent Tuesday morning on X pushing back against Stan’s Harvey Dent comment.
In one post, he mocked the idea that Stan would tell a “random French outlet” he can’t reveal anything about the movie and then casually confirm his character.
Sneider also pointed to Stan working with makeup and joked that he shaved his head “like a good District Attorney.”
Fifteen minutes later, Sneider said he’s waiting for a “planted leak” showing Stan in Dent makeup and questioned what character Brian Tyree Henry will supposedly be playing.
What About Brian Tyree Henry?
Sneider’s original report had Brian Tyree Henry connected to the district attorney’s office.
Both reports could still partly be right.
Fans have floated Henry as Harvey Bullock, the GCPD detective, which would give Reeves two Harveys without requiring Henry to play Dent.
Henry’s casting is confirmed, but his character isn’t. The same goes for Scarlett Johansson, Charles Dance, and Sebastian Koch.
Sneider’s sources described Johansson and Dance as a “meld” of different characters rather than straightforward comic book adaptations.
A July set leak claimed Johansson is playing a grounded Poison Ivy who poisons Gotham’s elite, while Dance is connected to what sounds like the Court of Owls.
Importantly, the same leak also backed the Stan-as-Zsasz claim.
For now, Robert Pattinson, Jeffrey Wright, Andy Serkis, Colin Farrell, Jayme Lawson, and Gil Perez-Abraham are confirmed to return. Johansson, Stan, Dance, Henry, and Koch are confirmed newcomers.
Stan saying he plays Harvey Dent is still the closest thing to a primary source anyone has produced on the character in eight months.
Stan as Zsasz, Henry as Dent, Johansson as Poison Ivy, Dance and the Court of Owls, and Barry Keoghan’s Joker returning remain rumors.
The Batman Part II Release Date
Principal photography started in June at Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden, with additional filming across England and Scotland. Production has most recently been shooting in Glasgow, where set video caught the battle-damaged Batmobile tearing through fake snow, and where the GCPD opens fire on the car. A district attorney turning Gotham against Batman is one read on why.
Matt Reeves directs from a script co-written with Mattson Tomlin. Erik Messerschmidt replaces Greig Fraser as cinematographer, while Michael Giacchino is expected to return as composer.
Reeves has also been confirming Batsuit changes and custom lens work during production.
The Batman: Part II was delayed from October 2027 and is now scheduled to open February 18, 2028. Our running The Batman Part II guide tracks the full cast, the villain rumors, and every set reveal as it lands.
