The Joker, the iconic Batman villain, will appear a lot more in The Batman 2 if star Barry Keoghan has his way. Robert Pattinson’s portrayal of Bruce Wayne/Batman quickly rose in the rankings of live-action Batman adaptations after the film’s premiere last year to rave reviews. The universe’s renditions of evildoers like Catwoman, the Riddler, the Penguin, & Carmine Falcone were first introduced to audiences through The Batman. With Keoghan’s brief appearance as the Joker at the conclusion of the film, the character could have a bigger role in The Batman 2.
In an interview with Josh Horowitz for the Happy Sad Confused podcast, Keoghan expressed his desire to play the Joker in The Batman 2 in more depth.
The Joker was not used in The Batman; instead, Keoghan chose a different interpretation of the character, which he will defend in the follow-up. Keoghan says he has done his homework on the character and wants to show it to audiences, and he is very excited about the possibility of a Joker come back in The Batman 2. See the complete quotation below:
“Obviously I’d love another crack. I’ve got a ton of back work done on him. If an opportunity does arise but, you know, they make the call, and I’ve got to respect that. Definitely. Definitely. Definitely, because I’ve got a few other things I’d love to bring. Actually, I have this little half-Moleskin book I’ve written a lot in already and so yeah, I want to show people what that is.”
What Would Make Barry Keoghan’s Joker Different From Others?
Keoghan’s goal will be to distinguish his Joker from the ones that came before, such as Joaquin Phoenix’s & Heath Ledger’s Academy Award-winning performances as Clown Prince of Crime. This is similar to how Pattinson had to make a place for himself among the pantheon of Batman actors. With a potentially expanded role in The Batman 2, Keoghan should be using his research on the character to craft a fresh exploration of the Joker while also deviating more from the comic book character than previous live-action actors have done in the past. Every Joker actor in a movie or TV show has brought something unique to the role.
The Batman universe created by director Matt Reeves would work perfectly with that strategy. Although the over-the-top antics of the comics were less present in The Batman, both the movie’s depictions of Gotham City and its famous characters felt strikingly similar to the original material, even though they weren’t necessarily a direct adaptation. The Batman’s Joker deleted scene depicted a meeting between Pattinson’s Batman & Keoghan’s Joker; the two characters appeared to have developed a friendship prior to the events of The Batman. Batman was seen talking to the Joker in the scene about what the Riddler might have planned for Gotham. With a new perspective on the characters’ connections with Batman’s detective side, that relationship angle would be intriguing to explore further in The Batman 2, helping to distinguish Keoghan’s Joker from the other Jokers.
The Batman Has Already Paved The Way For Keoghan’s Return As The Joker
While the Silence of the Lambs-style approach to the Batman & Joker relationship in Reeves’ universe is suggested by the deleted Joker scene from The Batman, the film also hinted that more sinister plans are in the works for when Keoghan plays the villain next. A scene at the conclusion of The Batman, which showed the Riddler in Arkham Asylum after Batman foiled his plans, connecting with Keoghan’s Joker, and the two laughing away, hinted heavily at the possibility of a Joker and Riddler team-up in The Batman 2, working together to defeat Pattinson’s Batman.
Source: Happy Sad Confused