Riddle me this: Who was that laugh?
One of the final scenes in Matt Reeves’ “The Batman” includes a haunting cackle that has fans speculating about sequels with Robert Pattinson as the Caped Crusader — and which Gotham villains he might be up against.
(Warning: This article contains spoilers for “The Batman.”)
Listed in credits as “Unseen Arkham Prisoner” in the film, out Friday, Barry Keoghan played a fellow jailbird to Paul Dano’s the Riddler, who gets thrown in the slammer at Arkham Asylum.
When Riddler asked who the mysterious convict hiding in the shadows of the next cell is, Keoghan cryptically responded, “Well, that’s the question.”
And it was certainly the question on fans’ minds, with many speculating the “Dunkirk” actor’s brief cameo was the Joker, especially since his grinning face was largely hidden.
Director Reeves was cryptic about who exactly Keoghan, 29, played, but alluded that viral speculation about the Joker sneak peek was correct.
“He’s who you think he is,” Reeves told press last month, Insider reported. “I would say the thing about the movie is that it isn’t a Batman origin story, but it is the origin story of every rogues’ gallery character that you come across. So Selina Kyle is not yet Catwoman, and the Penguin is not yet the kingpin, and the character that you’re referring to is not yet the character that you’re referring to, but it is in fact him.”
The Post has reached out to Reeves and Keoghan for comment.
Reeves also confirmed to IGN that leaked set photos showing Keoghan as GCPD officer Stanley Merkel from the DC Comics series were meant to throw fans off, since they filmed fake scenes to keep the Joker cameo under wraps.
While conversation between Dano and Keoghan was limited, the short dialogue between their characters offered even more hints that the baddie was the Joker.
“Isn’t that just terrible, him raining on your parade like that?” the so-called “Unseen Arkham Prisoner” said to Riddler of Batman, before erupting into a maniacal, but familiar, laugh that helped Riddler declare the anonymous cellmate a “friend” — and perhaps someday a partner in crime in lawless Gotham City.
“What is it they say? One day you’re on top, the next day you’re a clown,” he added. “Don’t be sad. You did well. Gotham loves a comeback story.”
It’s hardly a “comeback” for the Joker on the big screen, since the past two decades had many iterations of the laughing psycho, including Heath Ledger in “The Dark Knight,” Jared Leto in “Suicide Squad” and Joaquin Phoenix in “The Joker.”
However, the Joker’s inclusion in “The Batman” could hint at a sequel where Pattinson’s Batman squares off against his arch-nemesis once again.