Speculation aboutThe Batman’s take on the Joker (Barry Keoghan) has been rampant since the film’s release, and directorMatt Reeveshas now shed some more light on the subject. Following the release of thefive-minute deleted scenewhere Batman (Robert Pattinson) interrogates Joker about The Riddler (Paul Dano), Reeves has spoken with Variety about the nature of this villain’s unique look. But while most audiences are familiar with a vat of acid or a nice filibuster about the very subject, Keoghan’s Joker has experienced some very different origins.
Reeves said the following when asked byVarietyabout his take on the Joker:
“It’s like Phantom of the Opera. He has a congenital disease where he can’t stop smiling, and it’s horrific. His face is half-covered throughout most of the film. It’s not about some version where he falls into a vat of chemicals and his face is distorted, or what [Christopher] Nolan did, where there’s some mystery to how he got these scars carved into his face. What if this guy from birth had this disease, and he was cursed? He had this smile that people stared at that was grotesque and terrifying. Even as a child, people looked at him with horror, and his response was to say, “okay, so a joke was played on me,” and this was his nihilistic take on the world.”
Related:‘The Batman’: Breaking Down the Deleted Joker Scene
Based on those comments, it’s clear that Reeves has a distinct, defined take and vision for Batman’s most iconic villain. As of now, it remains to be seen just when we can expect to see Keoghan’s take on the character again. However, that may be sooner than initially thought, as Reeves also said the following, noting a particular HBO Max series on the waycentered on Arkham Asylum.
“There might be places. There’s stuff I’m very interested in doing in an Arkham space, potentially for HBO Max. There are things we’ve talked about there. So it’s very possible. It also isn’t impossible that there is some story that comes back where Joker comes into our world.”
The Arkham series evolved from the initially-set Gotham City Police Department series, with which Reeves was also involved. Audiences were curious whether Joker would factor into that Arkham series, given his scene with The Riddler that ended up in the finished film. Based on Reeves’s comments, it sounds like we can surely expect to see this tragic and unique take on the Clown Prince of Crime soon.
