The Batman’s Matt Reeves on What That Ending Reveal Really Means

More so than nearly each different superhero film prior to now few many years, Matt Reeves’ The Batman is what it’s. There’s room for the story to proceed, positive, however the film stands by itself with out large teases for the longer term or connections to different movies. And it’s higher off for it.

Of course, there may be one large exception to this. And although the movie doesn’t explicitly affirm something about this character, very like the remainder of the movie round it, it’s fairly simple and apparent. However, Reeves confirmed that the tease is each what you assume, but additionally not.

After Batman foils the Riddler’s plan, we see Riddler in jail conversing with one other inmate. “What is it they say?” this mysterious character says. “One day you’re on top. The next, you’re a clown.” Billed within the credit as “Unseen Arkham Inmate” and performed by Eternals star Barry Keoghan, his chortle, look, and the clown reference lead you to imagine that is the Joker. And guess what? It is. “He’s who you think he is,” Reeves informed a gaggle of journalists just a few weeks again. But, like the opposite characters within the movie, from Batman and Gordon all the way in which all the way down to Rogues like Catwoman and Penguin, this isn’t fairly the complete Joker we all know from comics and films.

“The thing about the movie is that it isn’t a Batman origin story, but it is the origin story of every Rogues’ Gallery character that you come across,” Reeves stated. “So like Selina Kyle’s not yet Catwoman and the Penguin is not yet the kingpin, and the character that you’re referring to is not yet the character that you’re referring to. But it is, in fact, him.”

Interestingly sufficient although, there was extra of this early Joker in different variations of the film. Speaking to Variety, Reeves stated that he really shot one other scene with Keoghan as Joker that hit the reducing room flooring. In the movie, Batman is at a loss for how you can defeat the Riddler and—in a really Silence of the Lambs and Mindhunter sort of method—he decides to interrupt into Arkham and ask Joker about Riddler

“And [Joker] says, ‘It’s almost our anniversary, isn’t it?’” Reeves defined. “You realize that they have a relationship and that this guy obviously did something, and Batman somehow got him into Arkham.”

That historical past shouldn’t be defined within the scene however Joker does flip issues on Batman. After asking for perception into how he thinks, Joker hits Batman with the unhealthy information. “[Joker tells Batman] ‘What do you mean, you want to know how he thinks?’” Reeves defined. “’You guys think the same.’ What he’s really doing is getting into Batman’s head. And he is resisting this idea violently. And so that’s what that scene was. It was a scene to unsettle him.”

Eventually although, the scene was minimize as a result of it slowed the tempo of the film down. But Reeves does assume he’ll launch it someday sooner or later. “It’s a really creepy, cool scene,” he says. “That was the scene that was meant to introduce this guy and just to tease the audience to go like, ‘Oh my god, he’s here too? And he’s not yet the Joker—what’s this going to be?’ And then it seems so delicious in the story, since we’d already set him up, to have the end of the story, the completion of the Riddler arc, be that he was in a cell next to this guy.”

Speaking of the longer term although, whereas a sequel to The Batman is already within the works, Reeves doesn’t essentially assume as a result of the Joker exhibits up on the finish of this movie that he’ll 100% be the star of the subsequent one. “It’s not an Easter egg scene,” Reeves stated. “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.”

Head to Variety to learn far more on this new Mr. J—the casting, the look, and extra. The Batman is at the moment in theaters.

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