It would be cool to get at least a brief flashback or two of this character as the Red Hood, perhaps in a movie starring Keoghan’s Joker as the main villain, but it’s not necessary. While Keoghan’s pre-Joker is obviously still of the “out-edgy Batman” variety that’s been popular now for decades, he also has a sprite-like quality and actual sense of humor throughout, and seems like the sort who will enjoy poking Batman in the eye more than threats of murder and death. Specifically, I wanted to see a Joker more akin to the character from the 1960s TV series, but homicidal - with the caveat that his violence and darkness didn’t overshadow his clownishness, and that he also spent a lot of time setting up pranks on Batman as opposed to always focusing on body counts. The gist of it is, I wanted a Joker who was more focused on trying to undermine Batman’s sense of himself and to damage Batman’s public image. I’ve previously written my own thoughts about how a Joker character might fit into Matt Reeves’ bat-world, which you can read here. This pre-Joker is having fun playing along and ribbing Batman, building toward his sucker punch at the end. There are no threats or homicidal suggestions from Joker himself, and he even gives Batman some useful insights (although Batman clearly doesn’t fully realize it at the time) about the Riddler and the Riddler’s motives.

His malevolence is matched by a playfulness, though, that suggests a playful joy at getting Batman’s goat. Barry Keoghan stars in a deleted scene from 'The Batman' Source: Warner Bros.īatman’s arrival creates a spark in pre-Joker’s eyes, and he slowly but surely comes to vivid life as they interact.

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