The Batman director Matt Reeves teases the places where his version of Joker might appear again in the future. The film, which stars Robert Pattinson as the latest iteration of the titular caped crusader, came to theaters on March 4, 2022 and quickly became the second film of the pandemic era to storm the domestic box office after the juggernaut Spider-Man: No Way Home. The film also recasts many other major characters from Batman lore, including Jeffrey Wright as Commissioner Gordon, Paul Dano as Riddler, Colin Farrell as Penguin, and Zoë Kravitz as Catwoman.
In a surprise scene late in the film, The Batman revealed that they had also included a new version of Joker, played by Eternals' Barry Keoghan in a brief appearance with his face obscured. However, his face and more of his backstory were recently revealed when Warner Bros. shared a five-minute deleted scene from the film where Batman confronts the iconic villain in Arkham Asylum. Reeves has also shared more details about Joker's past and how it differs from previous iterations, including the fact that the character was born with his signature smile.
While speaking with Variety, Reeves discussed potential places for this version of Joker to pop up in the DC Universe. He hinted that "there might be places," saying that the character is something he is "very interested in doing in an Arkham space, potentially for HBO Max." Cryptically, he also added that it "isn’t impossible that there is some story that comes back where Joker comes into our world." Read his full quote below:
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
Considering the fact that Keoghan is the third iteration of Joker in the DCEU, there are only certain places where he can reasonably appear. Jared Leto's version of the character is the one who can be found in the branch of the franchise that includes projects like Birds of Prey, The Suicide Squad, and the HBO Max show Peacemaker. Plus, an alternate origin of the villain has already been explored by Joaquin Phoenix in the 2019 Best Picture nominee Joker, which is also getting a sequel.
The most obvious place for this version of Joker to appear would be in the inevitable sequel to The Batman. However, considering that Colin Farrell's Penguin is already receiving his own television spinoff series on HBO Max, it would definitely also make sense for him to live on the promised Arkham Asylum series, which is going to be more centered in the horror genre. Regardless of where he ends up, it would only make sense to keep the character around in this corner of the Batverse, considering that this small taste of the character is certainly too little for fans of The Batman.
Source: Variety
