Warning: Contains SPOILERS for The Batman.
Barry Keoghan appears as Joker in The Batman, but his presence in Arkham State Hospital hints Robert Pattinson’s Dark Knight has already defeated him. Pattinson’s Batman defeats Paul Dano’s Riddler in the end, but greater threats are in the way. The Batman sets up multiple possible villains, with both Riddler and Penguin left alive and Easter eggs pointing to characters such as Hush. It is, however, perhaps inevitably, Joker who gets the biggest tease of all.
Given The Joker is the definitive Batman villain, then there’s a good chance any version of the Caped Crusader will have to go up against him at some point. That’s certainly setup by The Batman’s Joker scene, which reveals Keoghan’s take on the Clown Prince of Crime and, by way of a riddle, positions him as a friend of The Riddler. It’s expected that Joker will be in The Batman 2 or 3, since Pattinson is believed to be up for a trilogy of movies, yet he may not just be Batman’s future but also his past.
The Batman’s version of Joker is in Arkham, which isn’t the kind of place a person just ends up - they need to have been put there for a reason, by someone. Not only that, but it seems The Joker has a grudge against Batman, since he’s working with the villain he’s just defeated. The pair teaming up isn’t necessarily dependant on a shared history with - and losses to - Batman, but it would make a lot of sense, and director Matt Reeves himself has said Pattinson is responsible for putting Joker in Arkham, albeit the details and exact scenario are to be confirmed.
Keoghan’s Joker Is In Arkham Because Of Batman (But What Happened?)
In an interview with Variety, Reeves discussed a deleted scene from The Batman involving Joker. This would’ve seen Batman sneaking into Arkham and talking to Mr. J as a desperate means of profiling The Riddler and finding a means to defeat him. With that, there’d have been a reveal of some shared history, with Joker telling Batman it was almost their “anniversary.” Reeves added: “You realize that they have a relationship, and that this guy obviously did something, and Batman somehow got him into Arkham.”
That, of course, keeps what happened between Joker and Batman purposefully - and enticingly - vague. That the scene itself didn’t make the cut means it isn’t even necessarily canon, should a future movie decide to take things in a different direction. Quite how Batman got him into Arkham is unknown, but The Riddler is very much established as the greatest test and biggest threat to Gotham of Batman’s two-year career. There’s little sign of scars left by Joker upon either Bat nor city, so whatever happened likely wasn’t a major event, even if it left its mark upon Joker enough for him to befriend Edward Nashton. That itself makes sense, though, as Reeves as made clear this Joker isn’t fully the Joker yet, so Batman has defeated the prototype, as it were. Does that mean the bigger test is yet to come?
Will Batman Properly Fight Joker In The Batman 2 (Or 3)?
The tease of Joker in The Batman’s ending definitely feels like setup for more. It’s not quite as subtle as a playing card at the end of Batman Begins, but has a similar message to the audience in telling them to expect more of this character. Reeves has downplayed the idea of Joker in The Batman 2, with no guarantees he’ll be seen again. It’s a sensible way to approach things, but it feels inevitable that he will return at some point, even if it’s not until The Batman 3. This is Batman and Joker, after all, two characters who define one another. Keoghan is such perfect casting as Joker that it’d be a waste not to see more, and high profile enough that such a choice is unlikely, even if it would be admirably bold. It seems likely, then, that he will return, and Pattinson’s Batman will defeat Keoghan’s Joker for good.
