This article contains major spoilers for The Batman.The Batman, directed by Matt Reeves and starring Robert Pattinson as Bruce Wayne, is finally in theaters. And needless to say, fans have a lot to talk about when it comes to the Dark Knight’s latest big screen adventure.
Due to the film’s nature as a detective story first and an action blockbuster second, it has plenty of unexpected twists and turns that weren’t broadcast by the trailers. In particular, there’s one specific character whose very presence in the movie is a massive spoiler. And as anyone who’s seen the film already knows, this character’s appearance has some major implications for the world of The Batman.
Put On A Happy Face
The character in question is, of course, the Joker, played by Barry Keoghan (aka Druig in Eternals). Keoghan’s character is credited only as “Unnamed Arkham Prisoner” and his face is never clearly seen, but it’s obvious from his dialogue — and the obscured glimpse at his grisly grin — that he’s none other than the Clown Prince of Crime himself. Keoghan’s Joker appears only in the penultimate scene of the film, in which Edward Nashton, aka the Riddler (played by Paul Dano) laments the failure of his master plan from within his Arkham Asylum cell. However, Riddler is comforted by the prisoner next door, who sympathizes with his troubles and offers to become his friend. Excited to finally find a kindred spirit, Riddler laughs along with his fellow villain.
That brief cameo is the only in-person appearance by Joker in The Batman, but it isn’t the only time his presence is felt in the film. In fact, Batman’s introductory scene features him facing off against a group of criminals dressed in some very familiar clown makeup — similar to Joker’s henchmen from the Arkham Asylum games, or the Jokerz gang from Batman Beyond. Even though the name “Joker” is never spoken in the film, the existence of this gang calls Batman’s famous arch-enemy to mind long before he appears in the flesh. After all, it’d be very strange for Gotham to have clown-themed criminals if the Joker didn’t exist in this world.
Curiously, the fact that Keoghan’s Joker is already in Arkham when he’s first introduced suggests that Pattinson’s Batman has already had his first battle with Joker sometime in the first two years of his crime-fighting career. It’s definitely an inventive way to keep Joker out of the spotlight without removing him from the Batman mythos entirely — after all, while some fans may be sick of the Joker’s constant exposure, a universe where Batman has never fought the Joker doesn’t feel quite right either. Starting the story after Batman has already defeated Joker offscreen is a nice medium between the two extremes: he may not be a direct antagonist, but his legacy still looms over Gotham.
Send In The Clowns
Of course, now that Barry Keoghan’s Joker has been introduced to the world of The Batman, there’s an obvious question that must be addressed. Will this new Joker take on a larger role in future sequels? It seems obvious at first that Joker is being teased as a potential main antagonist for the next movie. But according to director Matt Reeves, that couldn’t be further from the truth. In an interview with Variety, Reeves said that “It’s not an Easter egg scene… It’s not one of those end credits Marvel or DC scenes where it’s going, like, ‘Hey, here’s the next movie!’ In fact, I have no idea when or if we would return to that character in the movies.”
Later in the interview, Reeves goes on to describe a deleted scene in which Batman goes to Arkham and approaches Joker for help in understanding the Riddler’s twisted mind, placing him in a Hannibal Lecter-esque role. He also mentions that the appearance of Keoghan’s Joker was based on Conrad Veidt in the 1928 film The Man Who Laughs, which was the original inspiration for the Joker. But while this trivia is definitely interesting, it doesn’t shed any light on the question at hand: will fans be seeing this Joker again? Because while Reeves’ answer may seem like a denial, it’s not quite so cut and dry.
Reeves never stated that he has no intention of ever bringing back Barry Keoghan as the Joker — only that he has no current plans to. The film has only just been released, so it makes sense that sequel plans aren’t yet fully-formed. Reeves has been very open about which characters he’s interested in featuring in future movies, like Robin, Mr. Freeze, and the Court of Owls. Like with the first film, any eventual sequels to The Batman will likely focus on characters who are either new to the Batman films or haven’t been on the big screen in decades. However, that doesn’t mean that Reeves will never utilize the Joker again in any capacity.
Judging by the end of The Batman, it definitely seems like fans haven’t seen the last of Catwoman or Penguin, making their return in future films likely. As such, it’s also possible that a Riddler-Joker alliance could be in the cards as well. While it seems unlikely that Barry Keoghan’s Joker will ever take the reins as main antagonist — probably for the best, so that other villains can have their time in the spotlight — that doesn’t mean audiences won’t be seeing his smiling face ever again. Only time will tell what the future holds for the latest live action incarnation of the Joker.