The Batman’s Joker Copies Nicholson's Creepiest Original Villain Detail
The Batman revealed Barry Keoghan’s heavily scarred Joker in a post-credits cameo, and there's a creepiness to him not seen since Jack Nicholson in 1989's Batman. Keoghan is the sixth live-action big-screen Joker, following Cesar Romero (Batman 1966), Nicholson, Heath Ledger (The Dark Knight), Jared Leto (Suicide Squad), and Joaquin Phoenix (Joker). The Batman’s full Joker scene didn’t make the final cut, as it was released as a leaked deleted scene, but the creepy Joker design details in Keoghan’s brief screen time have already generated buzz.
Not much has been seen of Keoghan’s Joker. In the deleted scene, Robert Pattinson’s Batman visits him at Arkham Asylum to discuss the Riddler. With Batman and Joker divided by a prison visiting booth, all shots of Keoghan are unfocused or heavily obscured. The post-credits scene shows Joker’s mangled mouth through a cell door slit while he befriends Edward Nashton (aka Paul Dano’s Riddler).
Related: Joker's Backstory In The Batman: Origin, Scars, Injuries & Pattinson Past
Every movie version of Joker has been unique. Some use clown makeup to achieve the trademark always-smiling look, but Jack Nicholson’s incarnation was arguably more jarring without facepaint. The unhinged grin that madeThe Shining so memorable was exaggerated with prosthetics to be unnaturally contorted and permanent. Nicholson’s Joker in white clown makeup was creepy and bare-faced; he looked right out of a horror movie. The scenes of Keoghan’s portrayal suggest The Batman’s Joker, with his grotesque facial scarring, shares this same quality.
Specifics of Keoghan’s FX prosthesis are scarce, but it’s clear he spent extensive time with the SFX team. Romero, Leto, and Phoenix’s Jokers had no prosthetic SFX, only
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