We're still being careful about spoilers just in case some of you haven't had a chance to see The Batman yet, but director Matt Reeves has now debuted a deleted scene we've been hearing about since the movie first hit theaters, and it gives us a first proper glimpse of Eternals actor Barry Keoghan as... you know who!
In the 5-minute scene, Batman (Robert Pattison) pays a visit to Arkham to see an old enemy on their "anniversary" in an effort to find out what he knows about the serial killer who's been terrorising Gotham. The Joker (well, the proto-Joker) gives The Dark Knight a few hints, before taunting him by suggesting that he might have more in common with The Riddler than he'd ever admit to himself.
We get a pretty good look at Keoghan's take on the Clown Prince of Crime here, and Reeves seems to have taken inspiration from Lee Bermejo's artwork for Brian Azzarello's 2008 Joker run. This more grotesque iteration of the classic villain is bound to be divisive, but Keoghan certainly makes for a menacing Joker.
Check out the sequence below, and let us know what you think in the usual spot.
"Two years of stalking the streets as the Batman (Robert Pattinson), striking fear into the hearts of criminals, has led Bruce Wayne deep into the shadows of Gotham City. With only a few trusted allies — Alfred Pennyworth (Andy Serkis), Lt. James Gordon (Jeffrey Wright) — amongst the city’s corrupt network of officials and high-profile figures, the lone vigilante has established himself as the sole embodiment of vengeance amongst his fellow citizens."
“When a killer targets Gotham’s elite with a series of sadistic machinations, a trail of cryptic clues sends the World’s Greatest Detective on an investigation into the underworld, where he encounters such characters as Selina Kyle/aka Catwoman (Zoë Kravitz), Oswald Cobblepot/aka the Penguin (Colin Farrell), Carmine Falcone (John Turturro), and Edward Nashton/aka the Riddler (Paul Dano). As the evidence begins to lead closer to home and the scale of the perpetrator’s plans becomes clear, Batman must forge new relationships, unmask the culprit, and bring justice to the abuse of power and corruption that has long plagued Gotham City.”
The Batman is still playing in theaters, and is set to hit HBO Max in April.