On top of featuring new versions of Catwoman, the Penguin, the Riddler, and Carmine Falcone, Matt Reeves’ The Batman teases a few other iconic Bat-villains for future appearances. Barry Keoghan makes a cameo appearance as the Joker, Batman injects himself with what appears to be Venom (the super-steroid that gives Bane his powers), and the word “HUSH” in the Riddler’s homemade doc teases the introduction of, well, Hush.
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Plus, the fact that Gotham’s district attorney, Gil Colson, was killed by a collar bomb seems to suggest that a grounded take on Two-Face is on the way. Since the D.A. job is vacant, it could be filled by a budding lawyer named Harvey Dent. From Jon Hamm to Oscar Isaac, there are many great casting choices to flip that coin.
Chris Evans
With his performances as Steve Rogers in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Chris Evans represented integrity, optimism, and justice for a decade. If he made the leap to DC Films, Evans might want to play a villain who represents evil instead.
Rian Johnson previously subverted Evans’ clean-cut on-screen image in the murder mystery Knives Out, giving Evans the opportunity to ham it up as a delightfully smarmy, eccentricbad guy (and the actor knocked it out of the park).
Idris Elba
Idris Elba is another actor who could deftly capture the two sides of Harvey Dent. Elba’s Two-Face would have the confident, charismatic leadership of Stacker Pentecostandthe cynical edge of DCI John Luther.
The only thing that might prevent Elba’s casting is that he previously played Bloodsport in The Suicide Squad, but that movie was set in the mainline DCEU and The Batman technically takes place on “Earth-Two” in a wholly separate universe, so it shouldn’t be an issue.
Matt Damon
According to MTV, Matt Damon was the first choice to play Two-Face in The Dark Knight. Aaron Eckhart ended up taking the role due to a scheduling conflict, so Damon could play the role opposite Pattinson in The Batman universe instead.
Damon has classic movie-star charms, but he’s also played serial killers to unsettling effect in movies ranging from The Talented Mr. Ripley to Kevin Smith’s Dogma. He’d be a great choice to play Gotham’s “white knight.”
John Cho
John Cho’s storied acting career has demonstrated that he’s more than capable of playing likable, affable characters. But in the recent screen-based thriller Searching, he also nailed brooding intensity.
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Cho’s turn as Sulu in the Star Trek reboot trilogy proved that he can take on a familiar character that was made iconic by another actor and put his own spin on them.
Robert Downey, Jr.
In Iron Man, Robert Downey, Jr. earned the career comeback to end all career comebacks with his turn as Tony Stark. Tony was an unscrupulous figure facilitating crime before having a change of heart and committing himself to fighting for justice. In the role of Harvey Dent, Downey could chart the opposite journey.
Now that his time with Marvel is over, Downey could make the leap to DC. He could play Two-Face with the same eccentricity as his Natural Born Killers documentarian Wayne Gale.
Daniel Kaluuya
After a few years of underappreciated supporting roles in movies and TV shows, Daniel Kaluuya quickly became a renowned star with the double whammy of his Oscar-nominated performance in Get Out and his Oscar-winning performance in Judas and the Black Messiah.
Kaluuya has plenty of leading-man charisma, but he also brings plenty of pathos to each role. It would be interesting to see how he would explore Dent’s psyche on-screen.
Benedict Cumberbatch
From Sherlock Holmes to Stephen Strange, Benedict Cumberbatch never plays traditional heroes. They always have a downfall like a huge ego or a drug addiction that they have to overcome. Cumberbatch could be a perfect choice for a complex Batman villain like Harvey Dent.
Cumberbatch recently revealed a startling dark side with his Academy Award-nominated performance in The Power of the Dog, proving he can play a real monster.
Sterling K. Brown
With his turn as Randall Pearson in This is Us (and a bunch of other performances), Sterling K. Brown has shown that he can play warm, likable, noble, easy-to-root-for protagonists in his sleep.
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But he’s also occasionally proven that he can play a sinister villain. Brown guest-starred as a murderer who cracks under pressure in one of the best episodes of Brooklyn Nine-Nine.
Jon Hamm
Jon Hamm is one of the most charming, charismatic actors in Hollywood, and he played a suave antihero to spectacular effect in Mad Men. Harvey Dent is essentially Don Draper if he left advertising, started practising law in Gotham City, and sustained a chemical burn across half of his face.
Hamm switched from traditional charm to classical bad guy in the third act of Baby Driver, revealing a previously unseen dark side that could be tapped for a new cinematic take on Dent.
Oscar Isaac
Oscar Isaac has charm in spades. He can play a warm heroic type like Poe Dameron and also achillingantagonist like Ex Machina’s A.I.-abusing CEO, both with the same level of charisma. Isaac could bring both of these personas to the same character with Harvey Dent’s downfall.
The actor proved with his turn in Marvel’s recent Moon Knight series that he’s adept at exploring the psychology of disturbed comic book characters (and, specifically, playing a character with two personalities).
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