Warning: SPOILERS for The Batman are ahead!
Although Paul Dano’s Riddler and Colin Farrell’s Penguin were the chief antagonists Robert Pattinson’s Bruce Wayne tangled with in his vigilante guise during The Batman, the Caped Crusader’s arch-nemesis from the comics also cameoed at the end of this DC movie. The “Unseen Arkham Prisoner” Eternals star Barry Keoghan played was confirmed to be The Joker, but that wasn’t the only material shot. Matt Reeves revealed when The Batman came out that there was a bigger Joker scene cut from the final movie, but now that scene has been made available to the masses. Check it out above!
When The Batman begins, Bruce Wayne in his second year of crimefighting, but that’s already been enough time for him to apprehend the man Gotham City’s citizens will one day know as The Joker and throw him into Arkham State Hospital. With Paul Dano’s Riddler having killed some of the city’s power players and left baffling clues behind to taunt Batman and the GCPD, the Dark Knight heads to Arkham to see if Joker can give him some insight on the colorful villain who’s hit the scene. Upon looking at documents and photos of the crime scenes, Keoghan’s Joker sees that these crimes are personal, and that Riddler is targeting people who have wronged him and is desperate to be seen as a “somebody.”
Batman then inquires about why Riddler is specifically writing to him, and Joker speculates the fellow criminal could be a fan or simply holds a grudge against the cape and cowled hero, but that’s more than enough for him to kick off some mind games. The grinning evildoer realizes that Riddler’s crime spree is “upsetting” to Batman and that they have more in common than his opponent thinks. Eventually Batman decides Joker is wasting his time and turns to leave, but then Joker offers him some parting words: in his mind, Batman doesn’t really care about Riddler’s motives, and that deep down, he also believes those elite, yet corrupt citizens who were killed deserved to die. As Batman finally exits the room, Joker laughs maniacally.
Barry Keoghan is the latest in a long line of actors to play The Joker in live-action, with others including Jack Nicholson, Heath Ledger, Jared Leto and Joaquin Phoenix. He’s already off to a good start based on his performance alone, but this version of the character also stands out visually from his predecessors. While we never get a focused look at Barry Keoghan’s Joker in either this deleted scene shared on the Rataalada website or his cameo in the movie itself, you can tell that this version of the character is badly disfigured and boasts a permanent smile (which stems from a congenital disease, according to Matt Reeves), similar to Conrad Veidt’s Gwynplaine from 1928’s The Man Who Laughs, the character who inspired The Joker’s creation back in 1940.
So now that we’ve seen this The Batman deleted scene, and remembering how Barry Keoghan’s Joker struck up a friendly conversation with Paul Dano’s Riddler after the latter was locked up in Arkham State Hospital, what’s next for this incarnation of the Clown Prince of Crime? Well, Matt Reeves has said that there’s no guarantee that he’ll be present in The Batman 2, though that doesn’t rule out an appearance either. Reeves is also developing an Arkham-set series for HBO Max to accompany the Colin Farrell-led Penguin series that’s officially been ordered, so that spinoff is another place where Keoghan’s Joker could easily pop up. Either way, don’t count on his time in this corner of the DC multiverse being a one-and-done affair.
For now, The Batman is still going strong in theaters, having recently crossed the $600 million mark worldwide. Don’t forget to read CinemaBlend’s review of The Batman and keep checking back with us for updates on this particular DC franchise, as well as other upcoming DC movies.
