Given how many versions of The Dark Knight exist throughout film and television, the decision to retell Bruce Wayne’s story in the 2022The Batmanfilm was a risk from the start. Ever since the movie’s release, superhero fans have been rallying behind Robert Pattinson for his portrayal of the Caped Crusader, praising his both performance and his fresh take on the character. Having garnered over $700 million at the box office,The Batmancontinues to be a smash-hit worldwide.
Director Matt Reeves pushed the envelope even further with his decision to introduce a brand-new Joker, especially since Joaquin Phoenix had just won an Oscar for his rendition of the character. On top of that, Heath Ledger has gone down in history as the greatest Joker of all time, and he significantly raised the bar for what it takes to playthe Clown Prince of Crime.
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Even so, Reeves pushed forward with his decision to bring back the Joker, and Barry Keoghan’s journey towards becoming the Clown Prince was certainly an odd one. Originally, after Reeves announced Keoghan would be playing a part inThe Batman, fans were told he would be taking on the role ofGotham City police officerStanley Merkel. Since it was already known that Jeffery Wright would be playing James Gordon at the time of Keoghan’s casting announcement, Batman fans assumed the film would be drawing on the relationship Gordon and Merkel had in the comics.
As it turns out, naming Keoghan as Stanley Merkel was a strategic move made by the cast and crew, intended to throw fans off their game when searching for movie spoilers. WhenThe Batmanhit theaters, Keoghan was credited as an “Unseen Arkham Prisoner,” although his clown reference and maniacal laugh gave viewers a pretty clear idea of who he was meant to be. Afterwards, theiconic deleted scenethat’s been circulating the web was released, confirming Keoghan’s true role in the film has always been the Joker.
Not only was Keoghan’s casting journey unique, the decision to drop a deleted scene whileThe Batmanis still in theaters is also something that doesn’t happen often. Most of the time, fans are only allowed to see scrapped scenes once a movie has been released on DVD. Additionally, it’s rare that a character gets more screen time in a deleted scene than they do in the actual movie, especially a character as notable as the Joker.
Reeves has beenextremely open to talking to the public about his decision to revive the Joker, admitting that neither he nor Keoghan knows how far the character will go in this revamped Batman universe. Reeves has made it very clear that teasing the Joker’s appearance towards the end ofThe Batmanand dropping that bone-chilling deleted scene doesn’t necessarily mean Keoghan will be the main villain of his next Batman movie.
According to Reeves, his vision for the Joker wasn’t to have him battle it out against Bruce Wayne, but designed to remind both Patitnson’s Batman and viewers alike that there’s always going to be crime lurking in the underbelly ofGotham City.
Keoghan’s Joker has a much different backstory, as well, and Reeve has said that his version of the character was born with an unnamed disease that warped his face into a permanent grin. Unlike his comic book counterpart, Keoghan’s Joker didn’t fall into a vat of acid that eventually made him go crazy. The reasons behind his graphic scarring weren’t the result of some traumatic event, as it was for Ledger inChristopher Nolan’sDark Knighttrilogy. So far, Reeves has done a pretty good job of setting his world apart from previous Batman settings, because of the creative liberties he’s taken with his characters’ backstories.
As sad as it might be for some people, there’s a chance that Keoghan will never return in any futureBatmanmovies, based on what Reeves has shared with audiences so far. That being said, the response fans have given to Keoghan’s performance in the deleted scene has been overwhelmingly positive. Playing the Joker has the ability to make or break an actor’s career, and not all re-imaginings go over well with audiences.Jared Leto, for example, received a lot of backlash from audiences for his Joker in the 2016Suicide Squadfilm. Meanwhile, other stars like Heath Ledger and Joaquin Phoenix rapidly rose to stardom amongst superhero lovers because of their performances. Keoghan’s Clown Prince appears to be a combination of all the best Jokers, flexing his intelligence and insanity in the deleted scene.
Whether or notKeoghan’s Jokercomes back in later installments of Reeves’Batmanuniverse will likely remain unknown until the second movie begins development, starts filming, or hits theaters. Either way, the work he’s done as the Joker this year will continue to have people talking about him for years to come.
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