What Did That Barry Keoghan Cameo In 'The Batman' Mean? We've Got Some Ideas.
WARNING: THIS ARTICLE CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR THE FINAL SCENE OF THE BATMAN. IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN IT YET AND WANT THE FULL EFFECT, TURN BACK NOW. WE ARE ADDING EXTRA SPACE SO THAT YOUR EYES DON'T ACCIDENTALLY SCAN OVER THE TEXT ANYWAY.
So, now that you've been properly warned:
If you got some major MCU vibes towards the end of watching Matt Reeves' The Batman over the weekend, you're not alone: The scene at the end set in Arkham Asylum smacked very hard of an Easter Egg teasing the next villain in the next movie. But according to an interview Reeves did with Vanity Fair, that's exactly what it is not.
"It's not an Easter egg scene. 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."
First of all, it has to be said: Reeves has confirmed that this mystery character, played by actor Barry Keoghan (more on him in a minute), is, in fact, meant to be an early version of The Joker. (For a moment during the brief dialogue he has with Paul Dano's Riddler, it seems from his contorted visage that we might be dealing with Two-Face, but once he refrences being made a clown of, the jig is pretty much up.)
WHO PLAYED THE JOKER IN THE BATMAN
But it turns out there was actually supposed to be a much earlier scene in the movie that featured Keoghan's Joker. The first time Robert Pattinson's Batman goes to Arkham Asylum to speak to The Riddler, he can't quite figure him out - so he goes to an old foe for help.
"And this guy says, 'It's almost our anniversary, isn't it?'" says Reeves. "You realize that they have a relationship, and that this guy obviously did something, and Batman somehow got him into Arkham."
As they talk, Batman tells Joker he wants to know how Riddler thinks. Joker's reply, as relayed by Reeves: "What do you mean, you want to know how he thinks? You guys think the same."
Reeves said that he ultimately cut the scene because it wasn't necessary - it was to show someone getting into Bruce's head, but frankly, The Riddler did do a pretty swell job of that on his own.
The War of Jokes and Riddles?
That said, we seriously doubt that Reeves would have left that one scene in the movie as a standalone if he didn't want it to lead to something - if not in the next Robert Pattinson Batman film, then another one down the line (at least, we seriously hope so.) And The Hollywood Reporter has pointed out that a perfect comic book arc to go off of for such a story, featuring a partnership between The Riddler and The Joker, is a recent one: The War of Jokes and Riddles, a 2017 storyline from DC's main Batman series.
As THR explains:
"As the title suggests, "The War of Jokes and Riddles" centers around the conflict between the two villains, as they fight for control of Gotham after forming a working relationship that goes bad. It's the Riddler who drives the potential friendship, suggesting the two could kill Batman together to seal the deal; Joker, disinterested and distracted by what appears to be the loss of his sense of humor, responds by shooting the Riddler and leaving."
There would have to be a small departure from this in the movie, as it is clearly The Joker who has initiated this friendship between himself and The Riddler, but that should be easy enough to get past in the grand scale of the story.
"As the conflict grows, "The War" abandons the idea that Batman is truly at the center of things. At one point, he even chooses a side in the fight, which has expanded to include multiple supervillains and is rapidly destroying Gotham City in the process. Batman himself is driven to such lengths that he tries to kill at one point to end the conflict. (He doesn't succeed, thankfully.)"
Robert Pattinson is now one of only two Batmen who make it a policy not to kill - the other was George Clooney in Batman and Robin. In fact, Pattinson's Batman's choice not to kill seems as though it's going to be a central one moving forward, as the end of The Batman focused on the hero as a beacon of hope and community for Gotham, the hero learning to shed his hard exterior to offer a hand to the citizens.
"It is this attempt to kill that ends the war. Watching Batman fall to such a low makes the Joker laugh, breaking the tension that threatened to upend everything. As explained in the story's framing sequence, the entire period represents Batman at his lowest ebb, early in his career: "I have lines, right? I can stop. I have limits. They can't control themselves. I can. I'm good. They're bad. They kill. I don't. That's what everyone thinks. But it's not true."
This storyline would give Pattinson's Wayne a chance to properly explore his personal policy on meeting violence with more violence - where he places that "line" he's talking about says a lot about the character of Batman as a whole.
Plus, on top of that:
"He is, it's worth noting, saying this to Selina Kyle, in a continuation of the intensifying romance between Batman and Catwoman that's the heart of Tom King's larger story throughout his time on the comic. In that way, it also fits with what Reeves is doing in the movie."
I think we can all agree that we'd love to see more of that steamy tension between Robert Pattinson and Zoe Kravitz in a future film.
Of course, there's another character necessary to run this storyline who is, as of yet, a sort of unknown component: Barry Keoghan, our new Joker.
Who Is Barry Keoghan?
(And why is he the perfect actor for a "Jokes and Riddles" Joker?)
Barry Keoghan is an actor known best for his recent role in Marvel's Eternals. This puts the star, only 29 years old, in two different superhero franchises at once - though Reeves' Batman is, as he has expressly stated, not a part of the larger DCEU currently taking shape at Warner Brothers.
He is, however, very much a canonical part of the MCU - In Marvel's Eternals, Keoghan plays Druig, the member of the group with the power to hijack people's minds. As all the members of the team split off over time, Druig decides to become a recluse, and help save a small village of humans from their own self-destructive nature. He's a very serious character who really only smiles when Lauren Ridloff's Makkari is around.
You can see, from his performance in this role, how Keoghan would play excellently as a Joker who loses his sense of humor - his face can do "almost funny, but not quite" very well, and his talent for a dry, witty comment would keep that Joker feel to it even when he's not laughing.
The actor hasn't only played in superhero stories, of course. He's also played a scavenger in the recent film The Green Knight, a character who is helped by the lead, but robs him after he isn't paid for his kindness.
Keoghan also acted with Harry Styles in 2017's Dunkirk - which was directed by The Dark Knight's Christopher Nolan - as George, a young boy who sets sail with his father in order to rescue some of the wounded soldiers, and ends up being tragically blinded turing the mission.
That kind of cold and near-psychopathic behavior is echoed and amplified in The Killing of A Sacred Deer, in which Keoghan plays a 16-year-old boy whose father dies on the operating table. The surgeon who was operating on him forms a bond with young Martin, taking him under his wing - but Martin's behavioir slowly turns more vengeful and sinister, causing the surgeon and his whole family to suffer. Keoghan is creepy as all hell in this movie - a perfect example of how well he could do as the Joker.
Also an interesting thing to take note of for the future: Thanks to his part as the surgeon in that movie, Keoghan is close friends with fellow Irish actor Colin Farrell, who played the Penguin in this latest Batman film - a Penguin who seemed to be just approaching the height of his power at the end of The Batman. It would be fun, and appropriate, to watch these two team up with one another in this all-out war, in addition to Paul Dano's Riddler - their friendship would likely have a fun effect on their on-screen chemistry.
All in all, we're looking forward to seeing where the future of The Batman could go - and there are a lot of possibilities, so we'll be keeping you updated any time we hear more.
