Cillian Murphy Says His Scarecrow Isn’t Dead and Still Out There

Cillian Murphy debuted as the Scarecrow in Batman Begins, going on to make a surprise appearance in The Dark Knight Rises, with Murphy himself noting to GQ that, with the film leaving his character’s fate open-ended, Jonathan Crane is seemingly out there somewhere. Christopher Nolan’s Batman films are some of the more highly regarded entries in superhero cinema, which stand alone from any other DC Comics films. Given that the trilogy of films didn’t predicate themselves on anything that came before them, and with the final entry seemingly resolving Bruce Wayne’s journey, it’s unlikely we’ll ever see Murphy’s Scarecrow again, but it’s clearly a character he enjoyed playing.

“You can have fun, you can be a bit broad, and that was fun for me to do,” Murphy revealed about his role in The Dark Knight Rises. “I had never done anything like that. I didn’t expect to come back. It was wonderful fun to reprise a character. Up until that point, I had never reprised a character. There was a joke on set that he is just the character that refuses to die. He’s still alive, out there somewhere.”

Ahead of the release of Batman Begins, fans knew that Nolan’s cinematic style leaned more towards reality, leading to the surprise that a larger than life character like Scarecrow would be used in the film. Rather than disguising himself as a massive scarecrow, the character used a toxin to incite fear in his victims, with a burlap bag serving as a respirator that also evoked fear in his targets.

Scarecrow also appeared in the opening sequence of The Dark Knight, though he was apprehended and seemingly served justice. His role in The Dark Knight Rises was that of a judicial figure, turning the tables on Gotham’s corrupt and sentencing them to death or exile. Despite Batman thwarting Bane’s plans for the destruction of Gotham, Scarecrow’s fate was never addressed, confirming Murphy’s comments about his character’s survival.

With some franchises, the actor’s comments could seem like a hint at their return, but the disconnected nature of Nolan’s films to the rest of the DC Extended Universe makes that possibility seem highly unlikely.

The next take on the Dark Knight, The Batman, is set to land in theaters on June 25th, starring Robert Pattinson and directed by Matt Reeves.

Upcoming DC movies include Joker on October 4th, Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) on February 7, 2020, Wonder Woman 1984 on June 5, 2020, The Suicide Squad on August 6, 2021, and Aquaman 2 on December 16, 2022.

What do you think of Murphy’s remarks? Let us know in the comments below!