Nothing flatters a villain quite like arriving late and stealing the applause. The Batman quietly tucked Barry Keoghan's Joker into Arkham Asylum, where a shadowy cameo and that unforgettable cackle hinted that Gotham's worst nightmare had already crossed paths with Robert Pattinson's Dark Knight. Even a deleted interrogation scene revealed they shared a tense history, making the tease feel far more deliberate than a simple Easter egg.

Now, with The Batman: Part II welcoming Scarlett Johansson and Sebastian Stan to Gotham, one question keeps grinning in the shadows: Is Barry Keoghan returning too?

Barry Keoghan seems wonderfully positioned to revisit Gotham, courtesy of Box Office Pro France, which emerged from Warner Bros.' Studio Show 2026 presentation sounding rather convinced he was already invited. The publication grouped him with Robert Pattinson, Scarlett Johansson, Sebastian Stan, and Andy Serkis. Warner Bros., however, remained charmingly silent. Studios adore suspense almost as much as the Joker does.

A return also makes too much narrative sense to ignore. Matt Reeves ended The Batman with Joker recruiting Paul Dano's Riddler from the neighboring Arkham cell, planting the seeds for a far bigger game. Rather than stealing the spotlight as Gotham's next headline villain, Keoghan's Clown Prince could flourish as the unseen puppeteer, nudging chaos forward while everyone else takes center stage. After all, the best punchlines usually arrive last.

The groundwork was already there, as seen through The Silence of the Lambs dynamic between the two in the deleted scene from The Batman. The Silence of the Lambs-style dynamic that could easily return. With Carmine Falcone gone, Oswald Cobblepot climbing the criminal ladder, and Bruce Wayne embracing hope over vengeance, Joker is perfectly positioned to test Gotham's fragile future without ever needing to dominate the marquee.

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As new updates surface, from Colin Farrell’s latest updates to fresh character additions, fans have one more chilling return to hope for: Barry Keoghan’s distinct Joker.

Barry Keoghan’s interpretation of Joker in The Batman reframes the character in a way neither Heath Ledger nor Joaquin Phoenix attempted, trading theatrical chaos and social tragedy for something far more clinical and unsettling. Rather than a man transformed by accident or circumstance, this version is rooted in congenital deformity inspired by The Elephant Man, where a neurological condition creates a permanent, involuntary smile that feels less like performance and more like fate refusing to blink.

This proto-Joker exists in an early, unfinished stage of villainy, closer to an Arkham case file than a fully formed criminal mastermind. Matt Reeves positions him as a psychological analyst of darkness, similar to Hannibal Lecter, calmly dissecting Bruce Wayne during a cut interrogation scene. Barry Keoghan himself has noted in a GQ interview that the makeup process took around six hours, involving intense prosthetics that physically shaped the unsettling grin, making this Joker a disturbing evolution rather than a familiar clown. A clown that fans can not wait to see in The Batman: Part II.

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Do you want to see Barry Keoghan in The Batman: Part II? Let us know in the comments!