Warner Bros. dropped the deleted scene from The Batman featuring Bruce Wayne's encounter with actor Barry Keoghan's Joker.
The five-minute clip sees Batman discuss the Riddler case with the Clown Prince of Crime, with the latter teasing the vigilante and comparing the Riddler to the Caped Crusader's campaign and persona. The clip also unveils Keoghan's appearance as the Joker, which was hidden in the theatrical release.
The Batman revealed Keoghan's role after months of rumors and conflicting reports. The actor's brother, Eric, previously confirmed the Joker in a deleted tweet. He stated, "So it's finally out My Brother playing the JOKER in the new Batman Unreal Stuff." Keoghan was originally announced as a Gotham City Police officer named Stanley Merkel, who is a character established in the comics.
Following the film's release in theaters, Barry Keoghan touched on the opportunity to play the iconic supervillain. He called director Matt Reeves a brilliant man and added, "Matt Reeves and Dylan Clark especially and together were amazing to me—really, really amazing to me. And, you know, getting to be part of the Batman universe is [a huge deal for me]. I'm a fanboy of these movies, and especially the Batman universe. So be to be in that world, I'm still pinching myself."
Even without Batman's iconic nemesis, the Warner Bros. film is still stocked with supervillains from the Dark Knight's rogues gallery. The Batman follows the superhero during his second year as a crime-fighting superhero, when he has established himself as Gotham's defender and is feared by criminals, but only just beginning to earn the trust of Gotham City's authorities.
The film sees the fledgling hero hunt serial killer Edward Nashton/Riddler. The puzzles and mystery Riddler throws his way draws Bruce Wayne deeper into a secret involving the criminal underworld, including villains such as Oswald Cobblepot/Penguin and Carmine Falcone; and his own family. The mystery also introduces Wayne to with Selina Kyle, also known as Catwoman, who becomes a tenuous ally in the struggle to save Gotham from Riddler's scheme.
While the Joker never encounters Batman in the theatrical release, he does share a scene with the Riddler, who is also locked up at Arkham Asylum. The scene is brief but established that the two may have found a twisted friend in one another.
The Batman is in theaters now.
Source: YouTube