Matt Reeves talks about how Barry Keoghan’s Joker will be different from other iterations

Matt Reeves recently talked about Barry Keoghanof Joker in his Batman universe and how he will be different from previous iterations of the character.

Keoghan’s Joker was introduced in a 2022 deleted scene The Batmandirected by Reeves. We have no idea when Keoghan’s Joker will appear in The Batman Epic Crime Saga, but there are plans in place.

It was previously reported that a Joker limited series is in the works and that it would bridge the gap between the two Batman Part II AND Part III. James Gunn quickly denied that report and said that “a Joker series is not under discussion nor has it even been tabled at this time.”

While we wait to see what the Joker’s future will be in the Batman universe, Reeves told The Hollywood Reporter that they’re working to make sure this version of the character is different from previous versions.

He said: “Every time you approach one of these characters, you have to find a new way to do it. So that makes it incredibly daunting. At the same time, this version of Penguin is a version of Penguin that no one has ever seen.

“The only way to do that is to feel like you’re earning your spot because otherwise you’d just do more and people would say, ‘Well, we saw it, so what do you have for us?’ So how can it be the thing we love, but also something we haven’t seen?

“That’s always the challenge. So with a character like that, that should be the bar.

Reeves previously talked about the Joker’s look, saying, “He’s kept in this suspenseful way, visually distanced from you. But I wanted to create an iteration of him that felt distinctive and new, but also went back to the roots. So it’s very out of the mold of Conrad Veidt and that idea of ​​the silent film of The Man Who Laughs.”

The director wanted this version of The Joker to be based on a child born with a condition where he never stopped smiling. He said: “It’s not a version where he falls into a vat of chemicals and his face is distorted, or what [Christopher] Nolan did, where there is some mystery as to how he got these scars etched into his face.

“What if this boy had had this disease since birth and was cursed? He had this smile that people stared at, it was grotesque and terrifying. Even as a child, people looked at him with horror and his response was, “Okay, they played a prank on me,” and that was his nihilistic view of the world.

He expanded on this and compared the character to The Elephant Man. He says, “He can never stop smiling. And that made Mike [Marino] and I think about – I was talking about The Elephant Man because I love David Lynch.

“And I thought, ‘Well, maybe there’s something here that isn’t something that fell into a vat of chemicals or isn’t the [Christopher] Nolan thinks where he has these scars and we don’t know where they come from.

“What if this is something that affects him from birth and he has a congenital disease that prevents him from stopping smiling? And he had this really dark reaction, and he had to go through a life where people looked at him a certain way and he knows how to get into your head.'”

Reeves also explains, “Life has been a cruel joke on him. And this is his response, and eventually he’ll declare himself a clown, he’ll declare himself the Joker. That was the idea.”

Batman Part II theatrical release is currently scheduled for October 2, 2026. We have no idea if the Joker will appear in this film, but fans are hoping that he will.