Warning: There are spoilers ahead for The Batman!
There’s no shortage of villains in The Batman, but the biggest adversary in Gotham City’s history didn’t sit out of this movie. Near the end of the film, Paul Dano’s Riddler befriends another inmate at Arkham Asylum, as played by The Eternals‘ Barry Keoghan. And while the implications were anything but ambiguous, director Matt Reeves has confirmed “it is the Joker.” And during a new interview with Variety, Reeves detailed a lost scene between Batman and Keoghan’s Clown Prince of Crime. Batman’s lost scene.
Apparently, Batman and the Joker already have a history in this world. The scene in question would have had Batman break into Arkham in order to get Joker’s insight on Riddler’s mentality.
“I thought [Batman] would be really insecure about this and he’d probably want to find some way to get into the [Riddler’s] mindset, like in Manhunter or Mindhunter — this idea of profiling somebody, so you can predict his next move,” said Reeves. “And this guy says, ‘It’s almost our anniversary, isn’t it?’ You realize that they have a relationship, and that this guy obviously did something, and Batman somehow got him into Arkham.”
According to Reeves, Joker’s response to Batman’s request would have unnerved him.
“’What do you mean, you want to know how he thinks? You guys think the same.’ What he’s really doing is getting into Batman’s head,” added Reeves. “And [Batman] is resisting this idea violently. And so that’s what that scene was. It was a scene to unsettle him.”
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However, Reeves cut the scene from the film because he ultimately felt “it wasn’t necessary. It was one of those scenes where, given how complex the narrative was, by taking it out, it kept the story moving in a way it needed to.” Regardless, Reeves plans to release the scene at some point in the near future.
Additionally, Reeves cautioned fans not to assume that Joker will automatically show up in the next film.
“It’s not an Easter egg scene,” said Reeves. “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.”
“I never was trying to say like, ‘Hey, guess what, here’s the Joker. Next movie!’” added Reeves. “The idea was more to say, ‘Hey, look, if you think that trouble is going to go away in Gotham, you can forget it. It’s already here. And it’s already delicious.’”
Were you intrigued by Keoghan’s Joker? And are you looking forward to seeing his lost scene? Let us know in the comment section below!
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