The Batman’s Joker scene suggests the Batman sequel is a monster movie

The Joker, Batman’s most infamous foe, has been through many onscreen iterations over the decades: He’s been a jovial clown, a mobster, an anarchist, possibly a Juggalo, and a failed comedian. With the release of a deleted scene from Matt Reeves’ The Batman, which features Robert Pattinson’s Caped Crusader locked in a room with 29-year-old Irish actor Barry Keoghan, the Joker becomes something entirely new to Warner Bros.’ billion-dollar Bat-empire: a bonafide movie monster.

Such a turn might be old hat for Keoghan, who already effectively portrayed an unnerving fiend in Yorgos Lanthimos’ 2017 film The Murder of a Sacred Deer, and an equally cracked and calculating killer in David Lowery’s The Green Knight. His performance in Batman’s cinematic universe is however a frightening first step to a much more sinister, scary-tinged future. It’s all in the audiovisual language of the scene’s first few seconds: Within the confines of a small interview room at Arkham State Hospital, a series of formidable locks slam into place and alarms blare a warning to all within earshot. Before a word has even been spoken, it’s already been made abundantly clear that something dangerous is free from its cage.

[Ed. note: Spoilers ahead for The Batman.]

This is where we find Pattinson’s Dark Knight Detective, who seeks advice about the Ridder (Paul Dano) from what turns out to be a well-acquainted foe. “It’s almost our anniversary, isn’t it?” Keoghan’s Joker asks, his face just out of focus. This is mostly how we view the Joker throughout the deleted scene: blurred, from behind glass, from behind the villain’s back, from over Pattinson’s armored shoulders. It just wants to focus on the villain and reveal his horrifying visage. Reeves is hiding the creature from Greig Fraser, cinematographer. He’s a sinister shape solidifying into a nightmare as the audience catches one harrowing peek after the other.

Through its design, the reveal works. There are moments where Fraser’s lenses hold on the back of Joker’s head, where scars and other peculiar rifts in the flesh of his scalp cause his green hair to grow in sporadic patches. The camera also pauses fleetingly on his hands, which almost seem to pet at Batman’s gift: a sordid, Fincher-esque dossier detailing Riddler’s heinous crimes and clues. “His violence… It’s so… baroque,” Joker says, almost admiringly. His fingers are bloodied and covered with vicious burn scars. This is what a man can expect from his life.

How Keoghan’s Joker originally reached his comedic apotheosis in the cinematic world of Batman It is up to imagination or sequels to follow. His design is full of devilish clues. The character’s signature hideous grin is seen only briefly, but one glimpse is more than enough. This seems to be a violently widening of the grin. (Perhaps during his first scrap with Batman during the vigilante’s destructive Year One?) As for the red smears, which look to have come courtesy of those ripped-up fingernails, they darken around his lips to the point of appearing black — and those lips pull loosely around his teeth, a rictus echo of Joker’s cinematic inspiration from all the way back in 1928, Conrad Veidt’s character from The Man Who Makes You Laugh.

Matt Reeves, a filmmaker who is genre-conscious, infuses his projects with the grace notes of legendary films and creates compelling narratives. The 2017 trio-capper of his. The War for the Planet of the ApesThematic cues were taken from The Bridge over the River Kwai Apocalypse NowWhile causing a catastrophic escalation to the already-fraught Apes-vs..Humans crisis Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. Reeves’ depiction of Ridder is itself a mimic of the real-life Zodiac killer, and Batman is decidedly a serial-killer movie, influenced by Reeves favorites like David Fincher’s Seven Zodiac. This deleted scene offers another obvious serial-killer movie staple: the flawed detective seeking advice from a seasoned professional killer, Will GrahamOr Clarice Starling seeking out Hannibal Lecter’s advice in Manhunter or Silence of the Lambs. Reeves’ particular inspirations suggest some baleful portents for the future of his Batman series.

Where Batman is a serial-killer film, Reeves’ planned sequel just might be a straight-up horror show. The deliberately disquieting presentation of Keoghan’s Joker, along with the startling makeup effects that power his performance, provides a tantalizing morsel of what’s likely to come in the inevitable sequel to BatmanWith more than $600 millions worldwide,, a film that is currently making waves at the box-office, has raked in over $600million. Reeves is currently managing HBO Max’s Penguin spinoff, which Colin Farrell reprises his role. At present, Keoghan isn’t officially set to return as the Clown Prince of Crime, though if he does, we might see him in the role again anywhere between now and 2027.

Keoghan, Does return, his Joker is primed to be the most monstrous version of the villain we’ve ever seen in live action, a particularly vile kind of nemesis who clearly has some sort of demented affection for Pattinson’s Batman. (At one stage, he clutches his face while asking the Joker the kinds of questions Bruce Wayne might not want to answer. Judging by the palpable dread Reeves wrung out of the Riddler, one thing’s clear: His vision for Joker will be far from a laughing matter.

BatmanThe film is now in cinemas. It will also be on HBO Max April 19.