Sebastian Stan Compares THE BATMAN: PART II to THE GODFATHER: PART II: “It’s Going to Be a Payoff”

Matt Reeveshas a big task ahead of him withThe Batman: Part II. The first film gave audiences a grimy detective story, a killer Gotham City, and one of the strongest modern takes on the Dark Knight. So how do you follow that? According to Sebastian Stan, the answer might involve going bigger in all the right ways.

Production on The Batman: Part II is underway, with Robert Pattinson returning as Bruce Wayne/Batman and Reeves once again guiding his corner of the DC universe. Details about the story remain tightly guarded, including the identity of Stan’s mysterious character.

Stan has spent enough years in the Marvel machine to know how to keep secrets, but he did offer a pretty wild comparison while speaking with Variety about his experience making the Batman sequel.

"I go to set sometimes and I look around and I’m like, 'I think we’re making f*cking Godfather Part II.'"

Comparing any sequel to The Godfather: Part II is sure to get people’s attention. Francis Ford Coppola’s 1974 crime epic is widely considered one of the greatest sequels ever made, so Stan understands exactly how huge that comparison sounds.

He added: "I really don’t want to raise it up, but I do feel like it's going to be a payoff."

The Batman gave Reeves a strong foundation to build from, and Stan’s comments suggest the filmmaker is taking full advantage of everything established in the first movie rather than simply trying to repeat it.

The big question surrounding Stan remains who he’s playing. One popular theory has him taking on Harvey Dent, Gotham City’s doomed district attorney who eventually becomes the villain Two-Face after suffering a horrific disfigurement.

Dent would fit naturally into Reeves’ crime-driven version of Gotham, especially if the sequel continues exploring the corruption running through the city.

Another theory points to Victor Zsasz, the sadistic serial killer known for carving a mark into his body for each of his victims. The character previously appeared briefly in Christopher Nolan’s Batman Begins, but Reeves’ darker Gotham could offer a very different version of the villain.

For now, Stan’s role remains a mystery, and that’s probably how it’ll stay until Reeves and Warner Bros. are ready to reveal more.

Still, hearing an actor standing on the set of The Batman: Part II look around and think of The Godfather: Part II is one hell of a way to raise expectations. Reeves already proved that his Batman world can support a sprawling crime story. Now we’ll see just how far he takes it with the sequel.