Three hours of The Batman wasn’t enough twisted madness for Matt Reeves. In a newly released deleted scene, we’re introduced to yet another Joker, Barry Keoghan, who was barely teased in the new film. Playing as Clarice Starling and Hannibal Lecter, Robert Pattinson’s Batman approaches the Joker for some assistance with Gotham foe The Riddler (Paul Dano).
The five-minute scene would’ve originally taken place right after Batman’s discovery that the Riddler has murdered Gotham’s police commissioner (Alex Ferns) with another epically cryptic note addressed to the Caped Crusader. What’s going on inside the demented brain of the Twitch-streaming serial murderer? There’s only one person who might know: the Joker.
Deep in the shadows of Arkham Asylum, the storied pair meet again. “Almost our anniversary, isn’t it?” the Joker, well, jokes. We’re not going to get any Joker-esque origin story in Reeves’ universe: these two have a long-established history.
After some hemming and hawing, the two finally get down to business: the Riddler’s up to no good, and for some reason, Batman thinks this creep (and he is super creepy, donning kelp strands of greasy, balding hair and bloody cuticles) can offer guidance. “Maybe he’s a fan of yours?” the Joker suggests. Or, more likely, the Joker suggests that there’s some sort of grudge the Riddler has against the vigilante.
Then, the Joker hits the core of the film: “Something is different this time,” he croaks. He compares the Caped Crusader to the Riddler, saying both are “masked vengeance,” so what’s the difference? “I think you’re only terrified of his motives when he loves or hates you,” he says. “I think somewhere deep down, you’re just terrified because you’re not sure he’s wrong.”
That’s a wrap! Aside from a quick cameo in The Batman, this might be all of Keoghan’s Joker we’re getting. In an interview with Variety, Reeves explains that the deleted scene was simply an allusion to the character, not a teaser for more of what’s to come.
“It’s not an Easter egg scene,” Reeves said. “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.”
Keoghan’s got a lot on his plate, anyways. He recently entered the MCU as a part of Eternals, playing the brooding Druig. You can catch him being just as creepy in The Killing of a Sacred Deer, or not so much in Dunkirk, The Green Knight, or Chernobyl.
The Batman is now in theaters, and is set to land on HBO Max on April 19.
