By Josh Bate
The latest version of the Clown Prince of Crime made his debut in The Batman, where the Joker, played by Barry Keoghan, spoke with the Riddler as the two were confined to their individual cells in Arkham Hospital. Keoghan only appeared once in the final version of the film, but a recently released deleted scene showed Robert Pattinson’s Batman interacting with the Joker. Fans got a much clearer look at the villain in the scene, in which Batman acts Joker for his insight into the Riddler’s serial murders terrorizing Gotham.
Joker had scars all over his face, even more than Heath Ledger’s version of the character. In typical fashion for Batman’s primary antagonist, he smiled and laughed chaotically. In a recent interview with Variety, Matt Reeves revealed more about the Joker’s defining character trait.
“He has a congenital disease where he can’t stop smiling, it’s horrific.”
Reeves also spoke about the Joker’s upbringing, and in particular the trauma that this condition inflicted upon him.
“He had this smile that people stared at that was grotesque and terrifying. Even as a child, people looked at him with horror, and his response was to say, ‘Okay, so a joke was played on me.’”
Clearly, the Joker’s physical condition caused him a great amount of grief in his younger years, which has contributed greatly to his villainous rise. Reeves already confirmed that, like the Riddler, this version of Joker is a serial killer, so it makes sense that Batman would seek him out as he attempts to get inside the head of the latest murderer he’s investigating.
Check out the full Joker scene here:
Images and video courtesy of DC and Warner Bros