Have you heard? The Batman has started filming in London, England! Ever since Robert Pattinson was cast as Gotham City’s Caped Crusader, the movie’s cast has been slowly put together, and while most of the actors’ characters had been identified, we’ve had no idea who Peter Sarsgaard will be playing… until now. And no, it won’t be Harvey Dent, a.k.a. Two-Face, as had been heavily speculated.
In its official announcement of The Batman beginning principal photography, Warner Bros laid out who comprises the main cast, and Peter Sarsgaard is identified as Gotham District Attorney Gil Colson. So like Harvey Dent, Sarsgaard’s character will work as Gotham City’s chief prosecutor and ideally fight injustice rather than be a force of corruption like so many within the city’s government usually are, but unless Matt Reeves is planning on heavily twisting the source material, don’t expect Gil Colson to have acid thrown on half of his face.
The Batman marks Peter Sarsgaard’s second time performing in a comic book movie, having previously played Hector Hammond in 2011’s Green Lantern. However, unlike Hector, Gil Colson isn’t an established DC Comics character, i.e. he hasn’t appeared in the comics or other media before now.
That said, there is a character from Batman: The Animated Series named Gil Mason who was Gotham City’s deputy commissioner, but was secretly in cahoots with Two-Face. So although their jobs are different, maybe Gil Colson will be partially inspired by Gil Mason. It wouldn’t be the first time a Batman: The Animated Series character has been tweaked for a movie, as Ben Mendelsohn appeared in The Dark Knight Rises as John Daggett, a variation of Roland Daggett.
Regardless, the ‘Peter Sarsgaard as Two-Face’ guesses can be put to rest, though that doesn’t necessarily mean we couldn’t still see the character in The Batman. Since this movie is set in the early years of Bruce Wayne’s crimefighting career, it’d be easy enough to set Harvey Dent up as a hotshot prosecutor. If something happens to Gil Colson, Harvey can step in as the new Gotham D.A., thus putting him on the path to one day becoming Two-Face.
For now though, there’s no indication that Harvey Dent is present in The Batman, so unless he’s being kept as a surprise, we’ll have to wait until The Batman 2 for him to surface, assuming he even shows up in this Batman film series. The character, whether as a civilian or in full Two-Face mode, has previously been played by Billy Dee Williams in Batman, Tommy Lee Jones in Batman Forever and Aaron Eckhardt in The Dark Knight.
As for the rest of The Batman’s cast, along with Robert Pattinson and Peter Sarsgaard, it includes Jeffrey Wright as James Gordon, Zoë Kravitz as Catwoman, Paul Dano as Riddler, Colin Farrell as Penguin, Andy Serkis as Alfred Pennyworth, John Turturro as Carmine Falcone and Jayme Lawson as mayoral candidate Bella Reál.
The Batman swoops into theaters on June 25, 2021, so keep checking back with CinemaBlend for more updates on how it’s coming along. You can also look through our DC movies guide to learn what other superhero movies are on the way.
