WARNING – THIS ARTICLE CONTAINS MAJOR SPOILERS FOR THE BATMAN
With The Batman now in cinemas, one of the film’s biggest mysteries has now been resolved and we have an idea about where future sequels may take their stories. Today we’re taking a look at one of the biggest spoilers to come from Matt Reeves’ epic movie. Read on at your own risk…
Before we get started, don’t forget you can check out Neil’s ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ review of the film right here. He calls the film “the definitive live-action Dark Knight” and says “The World’s Greatest Detective may have met his match in Paul Dano’s Riddler but everything in The Batman adds up Bruce Wayne’s most bombastic big-screen outing to-date.”
How Did We Get Here?
It was months ago, long before the film’s release that we first received the news that Eternals actor Barry Keoghan had joined the cast of The Batman. When the film’s first teaser was released at DC FanDome 2020, Keoghan was listed in the cast as Stanley Merkel. Merkel played a very small role in the Batman: Year One comic book as a partner to GCPD cop Jim Gordon. Many expected the character to be a nod to the comics, fleshing out the world of Reeves’ Gotham.
Months later rumours began to circulate that Stanley Merkel was simply a misdirection. Out of nowhere all manner of rumours began to circulate about the true role that he would take in Reeves and co-writer Peter Craig’s story. A quickly removed Facebook post from Keoghan’s brother seemed to confirm his role as The Joker, confirming something many fans had suspected.
By the time test screenings of the film had begun it seemed Warner Bros. was testing two versions of the edit. One which included “a character” and another which did not. Once again Keoghan found himself at the centre of rumours as fans debated whether Reeves was unsure to leave Joker in or out of the final film.
With The Batman release imminent, Warner Bros. put out the official cast list for the film which included Keoghan in the role of “Unseen Arkham Prisoner”. A role which we now know to be The Joker!
The Moment In Question
The scene itself starts out innocently with Edward Nashton (Paul Dano) locked away in his cell at Arkham. Lamenting his defeat at the hands of The Dark Knight, Nashton belittles himself for his failures. An establishing shot of the Arkham interior shows that a cell next to Nashton is also inhabited by a mystery inmate.
That mystery inmate soon begins to interact with Nashton. Speaking in a hushed voice, the unseen prisoner reassures Nashton that Gotham loves a comeback story. The words galvanise Nashton that perhaps there is a place for Riddler in Gotham’s future and his demeanour quickly changes.
Before the scene ends we cut over to the adjacent cell and the “Unseen Arkham Prisoner” becomes very much seen. Though we only see his face through the glass panel in his cell door we’re able to take in quite a few visual details on his character.
For a start “Unseen Arkham Prisoner” is absolutely Barry Keoghan. He also doesn’t, at this stage, have bright green hair. He does appear unkempt but this could be partly down to his incarceration. It’s also clear from the shot that at least part of his face is scarred in to the shape of a smile. Though he could be confused with a version of Two-Face from the scarring, a piercing laugh soon confirms this is none-other than Matt Reeves’ introduction to The Joker.
Next Steps
The biggest question which arises from this scene is what it could mean for the future? Perhaps first we need to look to the past. How did “Unseen Arkham Prisoner” end up in this cell? And how did he get those scars.
Given Reeves’ incredible attention to detail in other aspects of the story – Selina Falcone anyone? – could this character have crossed paths with Robert Pattinson’s Batman in his Red Hood form? Is there a story in the upcoming HBO Max GCPD series which could touch on the Red Hood character and his interactions with the Dark Knight?
It could make sense to introduce the character in the small screen version of Reeves’ universe rather than to give more screen time to his origin in a sequel to The Batman. His actions moving forwards could be of huge impact to Reeves’ Gotham however.
It certainly seems that Paul Dano is not yet done playing his version of The Riddler. This scene seems to indicate that Joker could be planning a prison break, putting many of Gotham’s most dangerous criminals back out on the streets. With parts of Gotham heavily flooded and Carmine Falcone dead, Penguin (Colin Farrell) looks set to inherit much of the city’s underworld. Perhaps the rumoured Penguin series could prelude or detail the huge prison break, leaving Batman to mop up plenty of criminals when he returns to our screens.
Plenty of historical comic book sequels have teamed up A-list villains: Penguin and Catwoman; Riddler and Two-Face, there’s a precedent for team ups all across the genre. A potential sequel could see The Bat and The Cat (Zoë Kravitz) forced to team up once again to take on the combined force of Joker and Riddler. With Selina heading for the hills at the end of The Batman it would take a serious escalation of the situation to bring her back in to the fold.
One thing is certainly clear: Matt Reeves has a plan for Barry Keoghan’s Joker. Character designs were clearly created and makeup effects tested. If his version of Riddler is anything to go by then Reeves’ Joker could be a huge force to be reckoned with. One other thing is also abundantly clear: where there’s an Arkham and a Joker, there could be a Harley Quinn not far behind…
The Batman is in UK cinemas now!
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