While it was initially reported that Eternals star Barry Keoghan had joined the cast of The Batman as Detective Jim Gordon's partner, Stanley Merkel, there have been indications lately that he may be playing The Joker. It's certainly easy enough to imagine the Irish actor doing the Clown Prince of Crime justice, but is it a little soon to return to that particular well?
The Joker has always been part of the Caped Crusader's big screen adventures, while the past few years have seen the villain appear in a Suicide Squad movie and even his own solo outing. Many fans are ready to move on to other bad guys, and a new story from The Hollywood Reporter may shed some light on how Warner Bros. is approaching that predicament.
While the trade is unable to confirm whether Keoghan is playing The Joker, they do reveal that "Multiple sources tell us that Warner Bros. has been testing two different cuts of The Batman, one with a certain actor, one without. And the final test screening occurred last week, with the decision now made as to which version the studio likes, says one source."
Reading between the lines here, it sounds an awful lot like there's a version of The Batman with Keoghan as The Joker, and one without. Seeing Matt Reeves' take on that character would be interesting, especially when you think about how the likes of Riddler and The Penguin have been reinvented by the filmmaker. However, another clash with the Harlequin of Hate feels a tad redundant.
The Batman is set to be released in theaters on March 4, 2022.
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