Barry Keoghan was supposed to have a larger role as Joker in The Batman, but his role was cut into a small cameo. Nevertheless, the deleted scene was released online, and we got a glimpse of what his Clown Prince of Crime would be like.
We don’t know when Keoghan will get the spotlight as the Joker, but he did say he’s excited to come back as the character. Talking to Happy Sad Confused (via The Direct), Keoghan explained:
“Obviously I’d love another crack. I’ve got a ton of back work done on him. If an opportunity does arise but, you know, they make the call, and I’ve got to respect that.”
Though there’s only one scene of Keoghan in The Batman, the scene sets up the relationship between the two characters, with the Joker obviously romanticizing his relationship with the Dark Knight, and Batman clearly acknowledging that Joker could be smarter than himself.
It’s also worth noting that this Joker’s origin isn’t acid or some facial scarring, but rather his face is in a permanent smile because of a disease. We can see it in bits here:
There’s definitely a lot of backstory to fill with this version of the character, and while I expect it to be a while before we get the next Batman film, I hope they don’t wait too long to put Keoghan’s version in the forefront. I mean, even Jared Leto didn’t get to fully express his version. Keoghan continues:
“Definitely. Definitely. Definitely, because I’ve got a few other things I’d love to bring. Actually, I have this little half-Moleskin book I’ve written a lot in already and so yeah, I want to show people what that is.”
We probably won’t get the next Batman movie until 2025, but hopefully Keoghan will be onboard to continue his plans for his Clown Prince of Crime.
