Barry Keoghan's new take on the Joker for The Batman is fully illustrated in a startling piece of fanart.Posted on Twitter, artist Juliano Batista's portrait shows the Joker staring at the viewer while dressed in his Arkham Asylum uniform. Batista captures the unkempt, patchy hair and lopsided smile of the character that fans have only been given glimpses of in the film and a deleted scene. The artwork serves as another imagining of what Keoghan's Clown Prince of Crime may look like when fully revealed.
Keoghan only appeared in one scene towards the end of The Batman, but his character design was largely hidden behind a cell door and shadows. Credited only as "unseen Arkham prisoner," Keoghan's Joker was in the cell next to the Riddler (Paul Dano) in Arkham Asylum, identifiable to moviegoers as the Joker due to his distinctive laugh and dialogue.
A second scene, deleted from The Batman's theatrical cut, saw Robert Pattinson's Batman visit Joker in Arkham for help and insight into the ongoing Riddler case. The scene was released weeks after The Batman debuted in theaters and although it offered quick and blurred shots of Keoghan's Joker, viewers are never granted a clear shot of the villain's full face. The confrontation between the Dark Knight and the Joker was met with almost universal praise due to how "chilling" and "unsettling" Keoghan's Joker appeared. The scene hinted at a history between the the two as well, which captured the imagination of many fans.
Keoghan was confirmed to appear in The Batman ahead of release, but his role was kept secret and listed as Officer Stanley Merkel as a red herring until the release of the film. Shortly after he was confirmed to be playing Joker, Keoghan spoke about how excited he was to be a part of the long history of DC Comics and Batman. "I'm a fanboy of these movies, and especially the Batman universe. So be to be in that world, I’m still pinching myself," he said.
Although the Joker has been introduced into the Gotham of The Batman, it's unclear whether the character will appear in any sequel or TV spinoff as of writing. HBO Max has greenlit two TV shows based on The Batman, the first of which is a limited series focusing on Colin Farrell's Penguin. The second started out as a project based around the Gotham City Police Department, but has since evolved into a series based around Arkham Asylum. "The GCDP thing, that story has story has kinda evolved," The Batman director Matt Reeves said. "And so in our work on Gotham, that story started to evolve, and it started feeling [like], 'Wait, we should really lean into this.' And then that's kinda where that's gone."
The Batman is exclusively in theaters now, and will become available to stream on HBO Max on April 19.
Source: Twitter