Sebastian Stan Reflects on Jumping From Marvel to DC for ‘The Batman: Part II’

Sebastian Stan has spent the better part of fifteen years as one of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s most recognizable faces, carrying Bucky Barnes through everything from World War II flashbacks to full-blown Avengers team-ups. That kind of long-term association with a single franchise tends to make any move to a rival universe feel like a genuinely big deal.

This year, Stan made exactly that leap, joining Matt Reeves’ ‘The Batman: Part II‘ in what quickly became one of the most talked-about crossovers in recent superhero movie history. The casting news alone was enough to spark endless online debate about what it means for an actor so tied to Marvel to suddenly show up in Gotham City.

Now, months into preparing for the role, Stan is opening up about just how disorienting that transition has actually been. Reflecting on stepping into DC’s world for the first time, the actor admitted the experience has been genuinely eye-opening, noting that despite years spent inside one major comic book franchise, he quickly realized how little he actually knew about the wider comic book landscape once he crossed over.

Stan is set to play Harvey Dent in the long-awaited sequel, a role he confirmed while promoting his Palme d’Or-winning film ‘Fjord’ at the Cannes Film Festival earlier this year. Speaking with Deadline at the time, he described the project as an ambitious challenge and expressed genuine excitement about working with Reeves, calling him one of his favorite directors for years, sentiments he shared in comments reported by Deadline.

He didn’t hold back on his expectations for the film either, predicting it would surprise audiences in a major way while pointing to Batman’s decades-long cultural staying power as proof of the character’s continued relevance. That kind of enthusiasm has only grown as production has moved forward, with Stan later admitting during press for ‘Fjord’ that he felt excited, nervous, and focused on continuing to surprise himself with the role.

Harvey Dent brings its own particular challenge, given the character’s eventual transformation into Two-Face and the physical and emotional layers that come with playing both sides of that arc. Stan has already begun working with hair and makeup teams to help shape how that transformation will look on screen, signaling just how seriously the production is treating the character’s evolution.

Stan has also been candid about just how unusual the filmmaking process has been on this particular production. Rather than working from a complete script, he’s described shooting scattered scenes without ever seeing the full story laid out in one place, a deliberate choice meant to keep plot details from leaking before release.

That secrecy extends well beyond Stan’s own performance. Reeves has reportedly kept the screenplay locked away under tight security measures, reflecting just how carefully the studio is guarding the sequel’s story ahead of its release.

The film also brings back a stacked ensemble from the original, including Robert Pattinson as Bruce Wayne, Colin Farrell as Oz Cobb, Jeffrey Wright as Commissioner Gordon, and Andy Serkis as Alfred, alongside newcomers like Scarlett Johansson, another Marvel alum making her own jump to DC. That overlap between the two universes has only fueled more conversation about how porous the line between Marvel and DC talent has become in recent years.

For longtime fans of Stan’s work as Bucky, watching him step into such a dramatically different corner of the superhero genre adds an extra layer of intrigue to an already highly anticipated sequel. Whether his character ends up as ally, antagonist, or something more complicated entirely, his own comments suggest even he’s still discovering exactly what he’s signed up for.

Have something to add? Let us know in the comments.