This article contains major plot spoilers for The Batman. Seriously, this is as spoilery as it could possibly get. Read on at your own risk.
The Batman has finally arrived in cinemas after years of anticipation, and it's fair to say the latest DC movie has delivered. The three-hour noir epic is a horrifying, brutal, and gripping take on the Batman mythos.
Robert Pattinson's brooding Dark Knight examines what it means to be a hero as he hunts down a terrifying Riddler (Paul Dano) in a rain-soaked, claustrophobic Gotham City that's coming apart at the seams. It's already being hailed as one of the greatest DC movies of all time - and rightly so!
With its critical and commercial success clear, the only question we find ourselves asking about a sequel to The Batman is where it might take the character next. We already know a number of spinoff shows are in development for HBO Max, but a teaser at the very end of the movie sets up a fan-favourite villain.
Advert
This is you very last spoiler warning before we dive into it, okay?
At the end of The Batman, we check back in on Riddler at Arkham Asylum. He's clearly pretty upset that his plan was foiled by Batman, and a voice from the next cell over attempts to calm him down.
We don't quite see his entire face, but the shadowy figure flashes a rictus grin as he tells Riddler they should be friends, before bursting into a fit of manic laughter.
It is, of course, Joker, being played by Barry Keoghan as per those earlier rumours ahead of The Batman's launch. Director Matt Reeves confirmed as much in a recent interview, just in case anyone was afraid it was a misdirect.
Advert
“You’re right,” Reeves told Variety. “It is the Joker.” However, he's stressed his appearance at the end of The Batman doesn't necessarily mean he'll be the main villain in the sequel.
“It’s not an Easter egg scene,” he explained. “It’s not one of those end credits Marvel or DC scenes where it’s going, like, ‘Hey, here’s the next movie!’ In fact, I have no idea when or if we would return to that character in the movies.”
It would be an incredible shame not to revisit the delicious promise of Keoghan as Joker. In one brief scene, the actor showed us he has the chops to play a properly unsettling version of the classic character, one inspired more by the horror of Scott Snyder's Batman run and the 1928 horror The Man Who Laughs.
Reeves noted that there were plans for Keoghan's Joker to have a larger role in The Batman. The idea at one point was for our hero to visit Joker in Arkham in an attempt to profile the Riddler and learn his next move.
Advert
“I thought he would be really insecure about this and he’d probably want to find some way to get into the [Riddler’s] mindset, like in ‘Manhunter’ or ‘Mindhunter’ — this idea of profiling somebody, so you can predict his next move,” the director explained.
Ultimately, the scenes were cut - but I'd love to see Pattinson's Batman go up against a threat like that in a future movie, wouldn't you?
Featured Image Credit: Warner Bros.Topics: Batman, Warner Bros, DC