“The Batman” opened a whole new box of villainy for the Dark Knight to play with, including a grotesque take on the Joker played by Barry Keoghan. Given the actor’s passion for the role and his love of Batman media, it’s only a matter of time before he is front and center in a follow-up. Currently, it’s unclear if Keoghan’s Joker will be returning in 2025’s “The Batman – Part II.” Director Matt Reeves never intended for his short scene at the end of “The Batman” to set anything up. “The scene is not meant to be there to say, like, ‘Oh, here’s an Easter egg,'” he told IGN. “I don’t know that the Joker will be in the next movie but I can tell you that […] what you’re seeing is an early days version of this character and trouble, as always, is brewing in Gotham.”
The uncertainty hasn’t stopped Keoghan from keeping his hopes high. When asked about coming back in an interview with the Happy Sad Confused podcast, Keoghan stated, “Obviously I’d love another crack, I just want to be back working on them again when that opportunity does arise, but you know they make the call and I got to respect that.” He added that, if it were up to him, he would return in a heartbeat and has already been filling out journals with information pertaining to his role. As a huge fan of Christopher Nolan’s trilogy, Keoghan knows that the late Heath Ledger set the bar high in terms of portraying the Joker, but he’s clearly dedicated to making his version of the character just as memorable.
