The Batman: All 7 Spoiler Details Confirmed About That Arkham Prisoner

Warning: Contains SPOILERS for The Batman.

Barry Keoghan plays The Joker in The Batman, and several details have been confirmed about his take on the character, who appears as a (somewhat) unseen Arkham prisoner in the movie. The Batman sets up multiple DC villains, with Easter eggs laying the groundwork for the likes of Hush and Two-Face, as well as potential returning foes, such as The Riddler (Paul Dano) and The Penguin (Colin Farrell). Still, any take on the Dark Knight is likely to go up against the Clown Prince of Crime if given time, and that’s no different for Robert Pattinson’s.

The choice to not have The Joker as the main villain in The Batman is a smart one, especially in differentiating Reeves’ movie from Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight Trilogy. Heath Ledger’s Joker remains a defining portrayal and, given this was another dark, grounded take on Batman, it was sensible to opt for something different. That allowed The Riddler to take center stage and The Batman to truly be a detective movie, but The Joker wasn’t left out of things completely.

After The Riddler is captured, there’s a scene between him and a mysterious prisoner. Played by Barry Keoghan, the Unseen Arkham Prisoner gives a riddle to Edward Nashton, revealing that he is someone who can be a friend to him. Though kept in darkness, mostly hidden from view and out of focus, even in those moments there are glimpses of scars, green hair, and the noise of a hyena-esque laugh that point towards The Joker, and Reeves has since confirmed some key details about him.

Yes, Barry Keoghan Is Joker In The Batman

Perhaps most importantly, Matt Reeves has confirmed that, yes, that Arkham prisoner in The Batman is The Joker. The movie itself provides enough context, but the way it’s shot could certainly lead to confusion among audiences and enough ambiguity that it wasn’t 100% confirmed, especially since Barry Keoghan isn’t credited as Joker. While some movie teases would long go unanswered or unexplained, it’s common for directors and others involved to quickly discuss spoiler-filled details about their movie after release, so it isn’t surprising Reeves has confirmed Keoghan really is The Joker, even though the movie already did a good job of making that clear.

The Batman’s Joker Has Had His Smile Since Birth

The framing of The Joker’s scene in The Batman makes it hard to truly see what he looks like. The appearance of any new Joker is one of the aspects of the character that’s always going to be scrutinized and debated, and this will be no different when he is eventually revealed in full. For now, audiences have only had the slightest glimpse, although even there is suggests a haunting take on the character with deep scars and skin grafting, similar to the New 52 line of DC Comics. What’s particularly interesting, though, is that Barry Keoghan’s Joker has had his smile since birth, and that it’s actually a medical condition rather than something inflicted upon him. Reeves told IGN:

“He’s got this congenital disease. He can never stop smiling. And it made Mike and I think about — I was talking about The Elephant Man because I love David Lynch. And I was like, ‘Well, maybe there’s something here where it’s not something where he fell in a vat of chemicals or it’s not the Nolan thing where he has these scars and we don’t know where they came from. What if this is something that he’s been touched by from birth and that he has a congenital disease that refuses to let him stop smiling? And he’s had this very dark reaction to it, and he’s had to spend a life of people looking at him in a certain way and he knows how to get into your head.’”

The Joker’s Condition Means He Sees Himself As A Clown

With Keoghan’s Joker having a condition that makes him smile, then that has, naturally, affected his entire worldview and how he sees himself. Reeves explained that it has meant he sees himself as “a clown,” because his entire life has been one big “cruel joke.” It’s that joke that eventually leads to his instability and villainous turn, leading him to becoming the Joker – something viewers haven’t seen on screen yet, but could be shown in more detail in The Batman 2‘s story, or perhaps even The Batman 3, depending on how long Reeves waits before bringing the character back.

The Batman Cut Another Scene With Joker In Arkham

The Batman only gives The Joker one scene, albeit a very memorable one, but there was almost more of Keoghan in the movie. Reeves has confirmed that he cut a Joker scene from The Batman, which would have seen the pair meet onscreen. With The Batman desperately trying to solve The Riddler’s puzzles and figure out who he is and what he really wants, he would’ve attempted to profile the killer, which would lead to him sneaking into Arkham and speaking to The Joker, with the villain helping him in a way somewhat similar to Silence of the Lambs. The Batman‘s Joker scene was deleted since the director didn’t think it “necessary” in the larger narrative, but has suggested it’ll be released eventually.

Pattinson’s Batman Has Already Faced The Joker

With The Joker inside Arkham already in The Batman, then it raises the question of whether he is someone Pattinson’s Batman has already defeated. As it turns out, the answer is yes – at least in some way. Reeves hasn’t been too specific about the exact nature of their relationship or what happened between them, but he did confirm that there was a history between his versions of Batman and Joker, which resulted in the latter being captured and locked-up in Arkham. Speaking about the deleted scene with Variety, Reeves went on to say: “[Joker says] ‘It’s almost our anniversary, isn’t it?’ You realize that they have a relationship, and that this guy obviously did something, and Batman somehow got him into Arkham.” Whether Joker’s defeat will be shown in The Batman 2 remains to be seen, but it’s also plausible that he will escape from Arkham and have another showdown with the Dark Knight.

Barry Keoghan’s Arkham Prisoner Isn’t Fully The Joker Yet

When it comes to The Batman‘s cast, Barry Keoghan both is and isn’t The Joker. Although his character is definitely supposed to become the Clown Prince of Crime, Reeves has confirmed that, much like Pattinson’s Batman, this is still a very early version of the character and that he hasn’t fully developed into that villain so completely just yet. In the interview with IGN, Reeves says The Batman is “an origin tale for the Rogue’s Gallery’s characters,” and refers to the idea that “Joker is not yet the Joker.” The Batman refers to the Dark Knight as “Vengeance” for much of its runtime, even though he is Batman too; the Joker tease hints at something similar, with Keoghan’s Arkham prisoner still to grow into the persona fully, which again could play out in a sequel… or will it?

Will Joker Return In The Batman 2?

It would be natural to assume that The Joker will return in The Batman 2, because the scene with him and The Riddler in Arkham very much feels like it’s setting up a sequel. That may well be the case but, according to Reeves, it isn’t something that’s necessarily going to happen:

“The scene is not meant to be there to say, like, ‘Oh, there’s an easter egg, the next movie is X.’. Like, I don’t know that the Joker would be in the next movie, but I can tell you is that here’s what you’re seeing is an early days version of the character, and trouble, as always, is brewing in Gotham.”

It would arguably be even more exciting, and certainly a bolder decision, if Joker weren’t the main villain in The Batman 2. There are many directions to head in after The Batman‘s ending, with various villains teased and plenty more either unexplored or not given their due on the big screen, while there have been multiple iterations of The Joker over the years. Keoghan is perfect casting for The Joker, but Reeves’ sequel could continue to tease him while having another main villain, before more fully unleashing him at the end of Pattinson’s Batman trilogy.