Big talk — Sebastian Stan compares The Batman: Part II to The Godfather Part II

Right, so The Batman: Part II is at long last actually filming, which, if you remember the endless rumour-mill and supposed delays, feels almost like a minor miracle all by itself. Naturally, everyone involved is staying spectacularly tight-lipped about what Matt Reeves has in store, but that hasn’t put a stop to the hype – in fact, Sebastian Stan is pouring petrol on that particular fire.

Stan Talks Up the Sequel

Stan spoke with Variety about what's going on behind the scenes. Normally, you’d expect waffle about hard work and strong scripts, but instead, he casually compared the experience to turning up on the set of one of the greatest sequels ever filmed. Here’s what he actually said during the interview, and yes, he went there:

Stan told Variety, 'What I’ll say is this: there’s no way people will fully grasp how this movie is until they see it. I go to set sometimes and I look around and I’m like, I think we’re making f***ing "The Godfather Part Two." I feel that highly about it. Matt has spent three years working on it. There’s a lot of speculation about these roles, about what this movie is, but I think it’s going to be a good payoff — it’s really grounded and real, and that’s what I loved about it. You want to tease it a little, but we still have a long time.'

High praise or straight marketing? You decide. Either way, it’s certainly the boldest comparison we’ve heard so far. And yes, he’s right: Reeves has been plugging away at this thing for something like three years, so expectations are getting silly now.

Who Is Stan Actually Playing?

This is where it gets messy. Initial reporting had Stan pegged as Harvey Dent (aka Two-Face), which he apparently confirmed himself during a French interview. Then it all got walked back with claims he was misquoted and nothing was set in stone. To pile on more confusion, another rumour did the rounds saying Stan was actually down to play Victor Zsasz, that fairly grim Batman villain who tracks his kills by carving them into his own skin. A load of speculation, but nothing concrete from the official side so far.

Matt Reeves hasn’t given much away, barring a hint that the main villain would be someone fans haven’t seen in a Batman film before. He did make it clear he wants to keep Robert Pattinson's Batman central and use a baddie who can properly dig into all his personal baggage. Here’s how Reeves previously explained the thinking:

Reeves said, 'I never wanted to lose Rob at the centre of these stories, so that is what we really set our aim on. Picking the right villain that digs into what that does and goes into his past and his life, that was what drove that discussion. We’re super excited about it, and I will say, it’s never really been done in a movie before.'

All of which could mean anything, as far as actual plot details go, but it does suggest Reeves is trying to keep things unpredictable instead of just rolling out the same familiar bad guys again.

The Batman: Part II is officially out in cinemas from 18 February 2028.