Believe it or not, we’re less than twelve weeks away from the release of The Batman, with Robert Pattinson’s debut as the Dark Knight entering the final stretch of post-production.
The second full-length trailer that debuted at DC FanDome almost broke the internet, and there was just as much discussion over the things we didn’t see as there was the footage on display. Naturally, wherever the Caped Crusader goes his arch-nemesis isn’t too far behind, so it was inevitable that Joker speculation would rear its head.
There’s been an increasing groundswell of support behind the idea of Eternals star Barry Keoghan becoming the next actor to play the Clown Prince of Crime, and a tantalizing report from The Hollywood Reporter outlines that Warner Bros. are testing two different cuts of the film, as you can read below.
“Last month, the internet went a little crazy about Barry Keoghan maybe, maybe not, playing the Joker in Matt Reeves’ upcoming The Batman. Don’t look to us to answers on that one. But we can tell you this: Multiple sources tell us that Warner Bros. has been testing two different cuts of The Batman, one with a certain actor, one without. And the final test screening occurred last week, with the decision now made as to which version the studio likes, says one source.”
In an official capacity, Keoghan was announced to have joined The Batman as Gotham City police officer Stanley Merkel, a character who has an established history and backstory in the comic books. Has it all been a ruse and he’ll eventually be revealed as the Joker all along? Honestly, we have no clue, but you can bet this is one rumor that’s only going to intensify the closer we get to March 4, 2022.