Director Matt Reeves explains why the Joker's deleted scene in The Batman was removed from the film's final cut. After its incredibly strong box office run, The Batman still has audiences talking almost two months on from its release. Putting a darker spin on the classic comic book hero, The Batman introduced a new, younger Bruce Wayne played by Robert Pattinson, and followed him through his second year as Gotham's protector. Zoë Kravitz also starred as Selina Kyle, otherwise known as Catwoman, while Colin Farrell made an unrecognizable appearance as the Penguin.
The final moments of Reeves' DC debut teased the presence of another classic Batman villain currently residing in Arkham Asylum when a shadowy figure (Barry Keoghan) could be heard conversing with the film's key antagonist, the Riddler (Paul Dano). While it was heavily implied that this mysterious inmate was the Joker, this was not confirmed until Reeves released an exciting deleted scene shortly after the film's release, which offered audiences a better look at Keoghan's twisted take on the Clown Prince of Crime. The short scene saw Batman visit Joker in Arkham in order to try and learn more about Riddler and his motives, and offered a handful of small glimpses of the villain.
Now, in a recent commentary breakdown of this exciting scene, Reeves has discussed why this more in-depth introduction to the Joker did not make the film's final cut. Shared by Warner Bros., the commentary offers a number of interesting notes from Reeves, particularly as he discusses how Joker's scene narratively ended up being unnecessary, since much of what the Joker divulged to Batman had previously been revealed over the course of the movie. Reeves went on to praise Pattinson and Keoghan's work on the scene, stating that he "always really loved the work" that the two actors put into their scene. Check out Reeves' full quote below.
"When we were putting the movie together, this scene, even though I think that Barry and Rob did such a cool scene together, it was one of these things where narratively it wasn’t necessary. You got everything that Barry was telling him, that Joker was telling him, over the course of the movie and given the great length of the movie, it helped the story to take the scene out, but I always really loved the work that Barry and Rob did in the scene."
Both Keoghan's appearance within the film's theatrical cut and the release of this deleted scene immediately sparked questions as to whether Joker could be the lead villain in the recently confirmed The Batman 2. The recent Warner Bros. panel at CinemaCon saw Reeves confirm that he was officially working on The Batman 2, with Pattinson set to reprise his role. However, the director kept any other major details, such as the sequel's Big Bad, tightly under wraps. Reeves previously stated Joker's short cameo within the film was not included to specifically tease fans that the character would have a larger part to play in a sequel movie, but did not rule out the possibility of expanding his role in the future.
One could argue that cutting this scene from The Batman's run time and then releasing it separately has ultimately added to the hype that has surrounded Keoghan's Joker since he was first revealed. While many would likely agree with Reeves' sentiments that the scene would have been somewhat unnecessary to the film's overall plot, the short sequence truly showcases Keoghan's talents and offers an exciting tease for this actor's own iteration of the character, should he ever have the opportunity to reprise the role. As for now, audiences can hope that any updates surrounding this next installment of The Batman will be revealed soon.
Source: Warner Bros.
