The Batman director Matt Reeves says that Barry Keoghan’s character isn’t The Joker quite yet.
Sometime after The Batman hit theaters, Warner Bros. Pictures released an official deleted scene from the film in which Vengeance himself (Robert Pattinson) visits Arkham to ask a certain prisoner some questions regarding the motives of The Riddler (Paul Dano). This deleted scene would’ve been the official introduction of The Joker (Barry Keoghan) if Matt Reeves opted to keep the scene in the film.
Although this scene was deleted, Matt Reeves still kept Barry Keoghan in the finished version of The Batman. Towards the end of the film, we see Joker in his cell right next to The Riddler, as the two new friends share a laugh with one another. With those two ready for a massive comeback story in Gotham City, it’s safe to say that they are on their ways to becoming the true versions of their respective villains now that the floodgates have literally opened, drenching the streets of Gotham with even more crime.
Warner Bros. Entertainment shared an official audio commentary for the now-famous deleted scene from The Batman. Here, we get further explanation from Matt Reeves regarding the possible history with Barry Keoghan’s character, and why even though he has some unmistakable features, he has not become the true Joker just yet.
You can read The Batman director Matt Reeves’ explanation for why Barry Keoghan’s character has yet to become The Joker down below:
I think for me, what I wanted to do, in trying to kind of launch a new Year 2 Gotham, was to have it be as if all of these characters that we know in Gotham sort of already exist. Here we have a version of this character who is not yet the Joker, but is going to become the Joker, and I wanted Batman to have had an experience with him that put him in Arkham. So, something happened in that first year, and they have a connection right from the beginning, and I wanted this version of the character to go all the way back to the original Bob Kane Bill Finger inspiration, which is Conrad Veidt in the silent film The Man Who Laughs.
Listening to what Matt Reeves has to say here makes sense in the context of The Batman. Given that the film looks to explore the origins of the Gotham City we know rather than be another origin story for Bruce Wayne’s masked vigilante himself, we get to see the respective rise of Zoe Kravitz’s Catwoman, Paul Dano’s Riddler, and Colin Farrell’s Penguin. Along with that, we get a tease regarding the history with Barry Keoghan’s previously “Unnamed Arkham Prisoner” who will clearly become The Joker someday.
Directed by Matt Reeves, The Batman stars Robert Pattinson as the titular hero, Zoe Kravitz as Catwoman, Paul Dano as the Riddler, Jeffrey Wright as James Gordon, John Turturro as Carmine Falcone, Peter Sarsgaard as Gil Colson, Jayme Lawson as Bella Reál, with Andy Serkis as Alfred Pennyworth, Colin Farrell as the Penguin and Barry Keoghan as The Joker.
The film is now streaming exclusively on HBO Max. Stay tuned for the latest news regarding The Batman’s on-screen future, as well as the future role of Barry Keoghan’s Joker, and subscribe to our YouTube channel for more content!
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