Barry Keoghan, who played the Joker in Matt Reeves' The Batman, talks his future plans for the villainous role. After Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight trilogy, which featured Christian Bale as Batman and Heath Ledger as the Joker, Reeves' take on the classic DC hero starred Robert Pattinson as the titular character. Released earlier this year, The Batman featured other famed characters in the Caped Crusader's library, including James Gordon (Jeffrey Wright), Carmine Falcone (John Turturro), Selina Kyle (Zoë Kravitz), Oswald “Oz” Cobblepot/The Penguin (Colin Farrell), and film villain The Riddler (Paul Dano).
At the end of The Batman, once The Riddler has been put away in Arkham State Hospital, the villain befriends the inmate in the cell next door to his, revealed to be classic Batman franchise villain the Joker (Barry Keoghan). When a deleted The Batman scene was released by Warner Bros., viewers were treated to an extended look at the latest take on the villain. Played by Keoghan, who also starred in Eternals, in this latest iteration, his face was revealed to be heavily scarred, and he had a shock of green hair peeking out. Despite this brief appearance, Keoghan's small amount of screen time got fans of the character excited to potentially see more in The Batman 2.
In a conversation with GQ, Barry Keoghan teased his future Joker story in the expanding The Batman universe. Despite mentioning his hope to play less sinister roles in the future, he confirmed that he is enthusiastic about reprising the Joker role for a longer period of time. Though he couldn't reveal much about his future in The Batman universe, the actor stated that he's imagined his own version of the classic villain, "which you've not seen." Check out what Keoghan had to say below:
"I'd love to show a little arc of him. If I could bring him to life that would be amazing and give you my version, which you've not seen."
How Will Keoghan's Joker Differ From The Others?
Previously, Keoghan revealed his only request for the character of the Joker, which was that no amount of make-up or prosthetics should cover or interfere with his natural blue eyes, so that the villain wouldn't lose his humanity in the eyes of viewers. That statement, along with the very dark tone of Reeves' noir The Batman universe, hints at the ways in which Keoghan's Joker will stand out from the rest. Previously, the role has been played by Jack Nicholson in Tim Burton's Batman, Ledger in the Nolan films, Jared Leto in Suicide Squad and Zack Snyder's Justice League, and Joaquin Phoenix in Todd Phillips' Joker.
Joining such a long tradition of live-action portrayals can be intimidating, but Keoghan's comments make it clear that he is confident about his unique take on the character. Based on what the actor has said, it's possible that his Joker would exist somewhere in between Phoenix's hurting, human, more relatable Joker and Ledger's manic, cruel, and unpredictable Joker. After his turn in Eternals as a mostly heroic character with a shade of sinister undertones, Keoghan has proven he can get audiences to connect with him even while engaging in morally questionable actions. By bringing that humanity to a Joker that exists in Reeves' desolate Gotham City in The Batman 2, Keoghan could offer a compelling performance as the villain that sets itself apart from Phoenix's more whimsical, tragic figure and offers a worthy adversary to Pattinson's Batman.
Source: GQ
