Now that they've gotten a good chance to see him, what do fans think of the new Joker?
Are they comparing him to Heath Ledger's iconic performance positively or negatively?
Keep watching to find out the full scope of opinion.
Minor spoilers for "The Batman" are ahead.
Barry Keoghan only appears as The Joker in a single scene of "The Batman," where he bonds
with The Riddler in Arkham State Hospital.
The brief glimpse audiences got of him left them hungry for more, and that appetite was
sated with the release of a deleted scene in which Batman visits Joker to ask for help
tracking down The Riddler.
The five-minute scene gives us our best look yet at Keoghan's Clown Prince of Crime, and
it's a sight to behold.
Joker's face is blurred through the glass barrier between him and the Dark Knight, but
we get some close-ups on his nightmarish grin and sunken eyes.
Meanwhile, the back of his head is a gruesome patchwork of green hair and what appear to
be burn wounds.
When Batman shows Joker a file on The Riddler, Joker taunts him, telling him that The Riddler's
tactics are similar to his own.
He suggests that Batman is having a hard time catching the killer because, deep down…
“Cause you're not sure he's wrong, huh?
You think they deserved it, huh?"
Many fans wish the scene had been included in the theatrical cut of the film.
Keoghan definitely gets to show off his range, especially when compared to his recent turn
as the conflicted hero Druig in Marvel's "Eternals."
Across social media, fans of "The Batman'' went wild over the scene mere moments after
it was released, and struck up vigorous discussion of Keoghan's new take on the Joker.
When Batman visits Joker, there's an immediate implication that the two have already tangled.
Pattinson's Batman has only been on his crime fighting mission for just shy of two years,
but has already put his archnemesis behind bars.
Joker remarks,
"Almost our anniversary, isn't it?"
…so it seems they first crossed paths about a year ago.
He also seems to be intricately familiar with how Batman thinks.
Many fans loved the dynamic.
One YouTube commenter wrote,
"This Clarice-Hannibal dynamic between Batman and Joker has so much potential, I hope they
do more of this."
Another user echoed the sentiment, writing,
"I love the fact that they have an already established history and dynamic with one another."
On the DC_Cinematic subreddit, users seemed to agree.
One opined,
"Loving [Pattinson's] Batman, emotionally a brick wall, still learning but overconfident
whilst still growing into the Batman persona.
Batman doesn't appreciate the danger of going to Joker, feeding into his mania and perception
of their relationship, really fascinating acting work by both."
Keoghan's Joker is by far the most grotesque we've seen on the big screen, a stark contrast
to the more realistic version Joaquin Phoenix played in "Joker" and even outdoing Heath
Ledger's scarred appearance in "The Dark Knight."
Beneath layers of prosthetics and makeup, the "Eternals" star is barely recognizable.
Patchy hair gives way to hideous, blistered wounds across his head and hands, and his
mangled grin is a lopsided maw of mismatched teeth.
It's a bold look, and fans seem to be split on it.
On the DC_Cinematic and Batman subreddits, some fans were unsure what to think of Keoghan's
wounded appearance, with one commenting,
"Disfigured face is fine I think, and I know he's supposed to have a congenital disorder
so disgusting mouth, I get it.
But I definitely don't like that he's almost bald."
Another chimed in,
"The makeup on Barry's Joker is actually pretty cool.
Gives heavy Heath Ledger vibes.
Not a fan of the lost hair though."
Other fans immediately loved what they were seeing.
One enthused,
"THIS is what [I’ve] always wanted the Joker to look like in live-action.
Creepy and monstrous as hell."
And a few hated it, of course.
One fan wrote that the design was "terrible," adding,
"They do know it wasn't the make up that made ledger a great joker.
It's like someone said ohh the scars were cool what if we gave him scars on his scars."
Even with the criticism, something about this new Joker is resonating with fans.
It's saying something that fans find Keoghan's performance as worthy of comparison to Ledger's
iconic Joker in Christopher Nolan's "The Dark Knight."
When Keoghan posted a still from the scene on his Twitter account, a fan replied,
"It's sacrilegious, but you might have just aced Heath Ledger in a 4 minute clip.
Bloody brilliant."
"If you're good at something, never do it for free."
Not everyone was as pleased with the resemblance, though.
Another fan wrote,
"Can we stop making every new cinematic iteration of the joker a repeat of Heath Ledger?
Like yeah Heath nailed the role but that doesn't mean you should repeatedly try to replicate
the style and energy he brought to the character."
Another fan countered that Keoghan isn't doing a repeat of Ledger's performance; there are
just common elements to the Joker as a character:
"I don't get why people say Barry Keoghan is doing a Heath Ledger impression in The
Batman.
That's just the Joker."
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