“It’s all part of the plan,” Heath Ledger’s Joker says in Warner Bros’ DC Film “The Dark Knight,” but the plan in place for the next ‘Batman’ film seems to be a little bit up in the air. Let’s back this up for a second and say a rumor appears to have been heavily confirmed. So, if you don’t want to *spoil* yourselves any further, this is probably best where you look away. *Final Spoiler Tag*
Matt Reeves’ “The Batman” starring Robert Pattinson arrives March 2022 and has been in the can for a while. It features key Batman adversaries such as Catwoman, The Penguin, and The Riddler. But if rumors that are very much starting to take shape are to be believed, another potential rogue may appear in a small cameo at the end.
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The whispers are given weight and lent credence by THR’s Heat Vision Newsletter. They mention the potential rumor, which has been going around for weeks now: Irish actor Barry Keoghan (“Dunkirk,” “The Killing Of A Sacred Deer,” “Eternals“) is appearing in “The Batman” as the Joker.
THR says they have no knowledge of where the rumor is true, but they do double-down on one key piece of information.
“We can tell you this,” the newsletter reads, “Multiple sources tell us that Warner Bros. has been testing two different cuts of The Batman, one with a certain actor, one without. And the final test screening occurred last week, with the decision now made as to which version the studio likes, says one source.
The Keoghan as Joker rumor began a few weeks ago, allegedly leaked by people on set. Reports also claimed this version of the Joker character is supposed to be named Stanley Merkel, an existing Gotham City cop from the comics connected to Jim Gordon.
Regardless. These are generally rumors worth dismissing, but they have seemingly building towards truth. In a now-deleted post on Facebook, Keoghan’s brother Eric Keoghan seemed to have inadvertently confirmed the rumor, believing it was actually reported as fact online. “So it’s finally out my brother playing the JOKER in the new Batman. Unreal stuff,” he wrote.
Eric’s post added with THR’s carefully-worded report confirming the villain cameo definitely all adds up to something worth paying attention to (plus, THR likely just can’t say at this point, but confirming one detail of it surely allows them to heavily suggest it).
While director Christopher Nolan teased the Joker at the end of “Batman Begins,” the character hadn’t been oversaturated at that point. We’ve had two different Jokers in the span of three years— Jared Leto in 2016 and Joaquin Phoenix in 2019 Adding one more to the mix would be three different Jokers in four years, which certainly feels like a lot to add.
Reeves has been seemingly fleshing out other Batman rogues like The Riddler, The Penguin, Carmine Falcone, and Catwoman in his new film, but what’s more one more to tease the sequel? We’ll know for sure when “The Batman” releases on March 4, 2022. Until then, file this one under a rumor so credible, and seemingly confirmed, it’s absolutely worth discussing now that the story is out legitimately coming ino focus.