The Batman has landed in theatres and reactions so far indicate Matt Reeves’ DC film has delivered one of the finest caped crusader iterations, played by the talented Robert Pattinson. Though, it seems many are more interested in the three-hour-long movie’s climax introducing a mysterious Arkham Asylum inmate portrayed by Eternals star Barry Keoghan. While the actor has been a confirmed cast member since The Batman’s first trailer release — details regarding his character were in wraps, well, until now.
Warning: Major spoilers to the recently released The Batman. Look away now if you haven’t seen the film yet.
After The Riddler’s (Paul Dano) plan to flood Gotham City fails, the serial killer bursts in frustration as he watches from his prison cell but is quickly pacified by Keoghan’s mysterious character, who happens to be his neighbor inmate. Although we didn’t get a full face reveal, the inmate is shown to be gruesomely scared and lets out a creepy laugh, hinting at his iconic persona as The Joker.
Keoghan’s character in the official cast list was initially described as playing Stanley Merkel, a Gotham police officer. But rumors later indicated his role as The Laughing Clown. In fact, Warner Bros. even tested two different cuts of The Batman, with and without Keoghan’s scene. While the movie does offer a brief look at the prisoner, it seems there’s an extended sequence that was cut for the theatrical version.
“There were scenes we cut that I liked. In fact, there’s a scene with the unseen prisoner, who appears at the end of the movie in Arkham [Asylum] with the Riddler. There was an earlier scene where Batman went to Arkham to try to profile the Riddler, and Barry is in that scene. It’s a very cool scene, and I’m sure we’ll release the scene after the movie comes out, because it’s a really cool deleted scene.”
This opens Reeves’s Batman Universe for an expanded world-building with Gotham’s finest criminals at the front and center. Furthermore, the director has already confirmed spin-off sequels such as a Gotham PD featuring Jim Gordon (Jeffrey Wright), Colin Farrell’s Penguin series and an Arkham Asylum spinoff centering over the mental institution, all made for HBO Max.
The Batman is currently in theatres.
