The Batman Part II may be pulling another Marvel star over to DC Studios as Winter Soldier actor Sebastian Stan is reportedly in talks to join the cast of the highly anticipated sequel in a mystery role (via Deadline). The news arrives just weeks after reports that Marvel's Black Widow actor Scarlett Johansson has also been cast in The Batman Part II in an unnamed role.
Stan's potential role has yet to be named, but given what we know about The Batman Part II, in particular rumors that the story could involve Hush or the Court of Owls, there are a few potential candidates that spring to mind.
Stan could be playing Tommy Elliot, AKA Hush, a villain with ties to Bruce Wayne's childhood who manipulates many of Batman's arch-enemies into a conspiracy against the Caped Crusader.
However, there's another candidate that could be even more likely: Lincoln March, a key member of the secret organization known as the Court of Owls, who have worked behind the scenes to guide Gotham City for decades.
March is an important character in Batman lore, originally introduced way back in 1974's World's Finest #223 as none other than Thomas Wayne, Jr., Bruce Wayne's older brother who supposedly died in childhood before Bruce was born.
In modern comics, it's revealed that rather than dying, Thomas Wayne Jr. was taken by the Court of Owls and trained to be a Talon, one of the group's deadly enforcers, using the name Lincoln March to hide his identity.
There's one more particularly interesting component of Lincoln March's history. In some realities, Thomas Wayne, Jr. has a totally different secret identity as Owlman, an evil counterpart to Batman who is a member of the Crime Syndicate, an alt-reality villain team alongside Ultraman, Superwoman, Power Ring, and Johnny Quick, all sinister counterparts of the classic Justice League.
Whoever he may be playing in The Batman Part II, if Stan joins the cast he'll be pulling double duty for both Marvel and DC, as he'll reprise his role as Bucky Barnes in Avengers: Doomsday alongside the rest of his Thunderbolts team, newly re-christened as the New Avengers.
The Batman 2 arrives on October 1, 2027. In the meantime, see what else is in store with our guide to all the upcoming DC movies and shows.
