His role was ultimately cut down to a tiny cameo, and he was credited only as “Unseen Arkham Prisoner,” but Barry Keoghan was The Batman’s version of the Joker. In the film, he appears in a very brief scene near the end of the story, where he strikes up a conversation with a fellow Arkham innmate, the Riddler, played by Paul Dano.
As it turns out, Keoghan got the role of the Joker(ish) after initially auditioning for the role of the Riddler, who was the main villain in Matt Reeves’ The Batman. And now Keoghan’s audition tape has been put online. The two minute clip is very theatrical, and contains no dialogue — but does use some clever staging (and a little fake blood) to tell a twisted little story. Watch it for yourself below.
Although The Batman didn’t confirm Keoghan’s character’s identity, Warner Bros. released a deleted scene that featured him in conversation with Robert Pattinson. This sequence made it much more obvious who he was meant to be playing: The latest movie version of the Joker. If you missed it, here it is:
Keoghan’s role seems to tease an appearance in a sequel down the line; and back in April, Warner Bros. did announce a follow-up to The Batman, although they’ve yet to confirm Keoghan or the Joker’s involvement. Warners has put a new Joker movie into production — but that film will star Joaquin Phoenix’s version of the character, opposite Lady Gaga has Harley Quinn. Will Warner Bros. want to have two versions of the same DC villain appearing in theaters one right after another? We’ll have to see…
The Batman is currently available to stream on HBO Max.
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