The Batman Director Explains Reasoning Behind Deleted Joker Scene

The final scenes of The Batman introduced the franchise's version of the Joker, played by a faceless Barry Keoghan hiding behind bars in Arkham. The character only appeared in the one brief scene, but director Matt Reeves quickly revealed that there was a much longer scene featuring Keoghan's Joker from earlier in the film that was left out of the final edit. He made it clear that the scene would eventually be released on its own. What no one realized is that Reeves and Warner Bros. intended on unveiling the scene so soon after the movie's debut. 

On Thursday, Reeves and the studio released the full scene online, giving a much longer look at Keoghan's iconic villain. In the scene, Batman approaches the inmate for advice on dealing with the Riddler. It's immediately clear that the two characters already have an established relationship, with Batman having put Joker into Arkham in the first place. Following the debut of the scene, Reeves opened up to Variety about why it mattered for Robert Pattinson's Batman.

"I thought he would be really insecure about this and he'd probably want to find some way to get into the [Riddler's] mindset, like in Manhunter or Mindhunter – this idea of profiling somebody, so you can predict his next move," Reeves explained. He later added, "You realize that they have a relationship, and that this guy obviously did something, and Batman somehow got him into Arkham."

In the film, the audience only gets a couple of minutes with Keoghan's Joker, and his unique look is hidden behind shadows and prison bars. Cinematographer Greig Frasier recently spoke about putting the sequence together.

"I can't comment on who it is, but this Gotham is a bubbling cesspool of crime, isn't it? So giving a little kiss or an introduction of who else may be living in this prison," Fraser told The Wrap. "I mean, what a fantastic opportunity to do that. And again, going back to the adage of you don't want to see too much. You never want to see too much. Sometimes seeing too much can distract from some of the beauty or joy of watching films."

What did you think of The Batman's deleted Joker scene? Let us know in the comments!