Warner Bros. has released a deleted Joker scene from The Batman, hinting at an intriguing new role for the well-worn character.
The scene is one of two featuring the Joker, but didn’t make the final cut of The Batman as Reeves believed the scene was repeating information and muddying the plot. In fact, Reeves almost cut both Joker scenes, being unsure if he even wanted Joker to play a significant part of Batman’s big reboot.
The Joker scene that did made final cut in The Batman sees Joker forge an alliance with the Riddler, while the deleted scene shows Joker talking to Batman, advising on how to catch the Riddler. Hence, the relationship between Joker and Batman is already established, as Joker is safely locked up, although likely not identifying as the Joker yet. This Joker (played by Barry Keoghan of The Eternals) is deeply deformed, sporting a wonky Elon Musk haircut, his hands riddled with scars and burns.
But did Reeves make the right choice? Audiences weren’t wild about the Joker scene that did made final cut, with many fans viewing the scene as a cynical tease, maybe even inserted into the script by executives, the kind of fan service viewers expect from Marvel movies.
After all, the character has been done to death, portrayed by some truly exceptional actors, as well as Jared Leto. Fans even poked fun at the newly-released deleted scene, pointing out that Heath Ledger’s iconic performance has been echoed far too many times. Is delving deeper into “grimdark” the only direction for the Joker? Is Joker the only direction for Batman?
Turns out, Reeves is well aware of these concerns; as he explains during an interview with Variety, promising fans a Joker-centric sequel wasn’t Reeves’ intention at all; he views the “Joker meets Riddler” scene as integral to understanding Batman’s reluctance to stop crime-fighting, as it hints at the rise of other supervillains in Gotham’s future.
But perhaps Reeves made the wrong call - I think the deleted scene is far more interesting than Joker’s conversation with Riddler, which hinted at a future team-up for the two “damaged” individuals. Audiences have seen supervillains team up before - arguably too many times - cinematic universes are built on such partnerships.
But we haven’t seen a Joker that acts as a malicious advisor to Batman; echoing Mindhunter and Silence of the Lambs is a genuinely new direction for an overused character. If we’re going to be subjected to yet another dark, dirty, scar-faced Joker, he might as well be sitting inside a cell, tormenting Batman with his words, rather than orchestrating another nihilistic act of terrorism.
We’ve seen many Jokers on the big screen, but we’ve never seen one that Batman has to rely on, to maintain a relationship with, and who might prove genuinely helpful to him - at least, when he isn’t getting under Bruce Wayne’s skin.
While the “Joker meets Riddler” scene seen in the film hints at a tired supervillain team-up, the deleted scene promises a Joker who is stuck on the sidelines, one who can provide a non-violent challenge to Batman, and potentially, share a more intimate relationship with him. Batman forcing himself to open up to the Joker might be more painful, and more intriguing, than any fistfight.
We will likely see Keoghan’s Joker pop up in the spin-off series for The Batman currently in development for HBO - Reeves himself has hinted that where the character could end up.
But whether he appears on the big or small screen, I hope we see more of Joker from behind reinforced glass.
