The Batman has hit theaters, with a whole new take on the world of Gotham and the characters that we may have briefly met throughout the film—one being played by none other than Barry Keoghan. The star, who was seen in both The Green Knight and Eternals in 2021, was originally labeled as an “Unnamed Arkham Prisoner” but has since begun talking about his role more openly.
But more than that, he just fanboyed over working with the cast of The Batman and the world of Gotham in general, and it was honestly adorable.
**Spoilers for The Batman lie head.**
In a new interview with Esquire Middle East, Keoghan couldn’t really get too deep into his character and their future, given that Reeves only just officially announced who he’s playing, but he did talk about Reeves’ vision and working with him as a director. “He’s brilliant, man,” Keoghan said about director Matt Reeves, “and Matt Reeves and Dylan Clark especially and together were amazing to me—really, really amazing to me. And, you know, getting to be part of the Batman universe is [a huge deal for me]. I’m a fanboy of these movies, and especially the Batman universe. So be to be in that world, I’m still pinching myself.”
On top of Reeves, Barry Keoghan also just worked with Oscar winner Chloé Zhao in Eternals and clearly loved how both directors let him take his time on Druig and now the Joker in The Batman’s universe: “[Reeves is] a filmmaker I hugely admire as well. And to get to walk alongside him and see how he works, and seeing much like Chloé Zhao, how comfortable he makes you on set, and he gives you the time you need and what you want. I’m in such a blessed position.”
But his fanboying didn’t stop there! He also was so excited by the cast, even if he only got to work with one other character. “And to get to work alongside Colin Farrell again—I know I wasn’t with Colin in that scene,” he continued. “But that cast as well… Zoë [Kravitz], Rob [Pattinson], all of them.”
But he did work with Paul Dano’s Riddler. “Paul is— I’m a huge, huge fan of Paul,” Keoghan said. “He’s such a good dude as well. I’ve watched all of his movies, like Prisoners and stuff like that. People say that we’re kind of alike as well, and I’m like, are we?” And there was a deleted scene where he appeared alongside Robert Pattinson’s Batman, which we might eventually get to see, from the sound of Matt Reeves’ comments.
He’s here
I am very much of the “I’m so tired of Joker” club. However, with that said, I will watch Barry Keoghan’s take on the Joker any day of the week. There is a way about Keoghan that just works to both terrify us or bring a sort of humanity to these characters we thought we would hate. We saw it in The Green Knight, we saw it with Druig, and now, knowing for a fact that he’s playing Joker, I know it’s going to be a horrifying performance.
But Keoghan still can’t really talk about it. “I can’t really go into that,” he said about exploring the Joker. “All I can say is it was a joy to work with Matt and Dylan Clark on that movie. That’s all.”
Keoghan is clearly excited to be a part of The Batman, and I can’t wait to see what he brings to the role!
(image: Marvel Entertainment)
