The Batman Part II is still nearly two years away, but we’re already learning details about the third installment in this trilogy. Director Matt Reeves is currently working on a return to Gotham City centered on Robert Pattinson’s Bruce Wayne. It’s currently unclear who the villain in the sequel to 2022’s The Batman will be. Interestingly enough, a new report seems to confirm, however, who we can expect to see facing off against the Caped Crusader in the third film.
The rumor was first reported on a recent episode of the Marvelvision podcast, which was later confirmed by Slash Film. Apparently, The Joker will be the villain in The Batman Part III. The part will be played by Barry Keoghan (Eternals), who had a brief cameo at the end of the first film. Co-host Devin Faraci (who has faced accusations of inappropriate conduct in the past) broke down what is going on behind the scenes at Warner Bros.
“Warner Bros. has been chatting with Barry Keoghan about his return to The Batman franchise, and my understanding is that — I don’t know if he’s in [The Batman: Part II] or not, but he’s the main villain of [The Batman: Part III]. And the reason why they’re having a real talk about it is because the plan is to do a Joker-oriented series that connects ‘II’ and ‘III’ the way that The Penguin connects [The Batman] and [The Batman: Part II].”
The Penguin is currently airing on HBO and centers on Colin Farrell’s Oz Cobb. That will directly set up the events of The Batman Part II. It’s expected that Penguin will return in the sequel, but perhaps not as the main villain. Speculation has ranged from The Court of Owls to Hush as possible villains for the sequel. Again, as of right now, nothing has been confirmed by Reeves or WB.
What we know for sure is that the sequel is finally set to begin filming in early 2025. That means we’ll likely be learning more sooner rather than later. Circling back to Joker, it only makes sense that the story would eventually circle back to Batman’s biggest villain. It also makes sense that Reeves and Warner Bros. might explore the villain in a TV show. The Penguin has been a big success so far. Why not try to replicate that with an even bigger villain? The only thing that might get in the way is 2019’s Joker movie and this year’s Joker: Folie a Deux. Might that make another Joker project seem redundant?
Then again, The Batman Part II isn’t even hitting theaters until October 2026. It was delayed a full year by the studio. That would mean this proposed Joker series wouldn’t arrive until 2027 at the earliest. That would give audiences plenty of time to forget about Joaquin Phoenix’s Arthur Fleck. It would also give Keoghan, who has become a very busy actor, time to clear his schedule.
“I thought it’d be really neat if so much of the fabric of Gotham just already existed,” Reeves said in a 2022 interview with Variety about the Joker’s inclusion in The Batman. “It was like an old Warner Bros. gangster movie and if you took a certain turn, you might see a character in his origins.” The director also said at the time that there was no guarantee that the character would return in a sequel.
“It’s not an Easter egg scene. It’s not one of those end credits Marvel or DC scenes where it’s going, like, ‘Hey, here’s the next movie!’ In fact, I have no idea when or if we would return to that character in the movies.”
The Batman Part II is set to hit theaters on October 2, 2026.
What do you think? Are you excited to see Barry Keoghan’s Joker? Or would you prefer a different villain? Join in on the conversation over on Facebook or Twitter!
