Analyzing The Batman’s deleted Joker scene

Holy Gee Willikers Batman! A deleted scene from your latest cinematic release, The Batman, just recently was leaked on the internet! Quickly, to the Batcave to run analysis! Batcomputer, play video.

If you haven’t seen it, watch the video, below! Once your analysis is done, read on to break down every detail we could make out from this deleted scene with us!

The Batman deleted scene

Where in The Batman was this scene delete from?

Based on the Joker’s dialog as he skims through the Riddler’s criminal file, we get a pretty good idea about where in the movie this scene could have potentially been. One line in particular is pretty apparent. “He’s a nobody that wants to be somebody. The mayor… The commissioner…”

Since the Joker’s list cuts off there, I think it is safe to say that this scene happens sometime after the Riddler’s torture video of the, unfortunately fated, Commissioner has been released to the public. Batman and Catwoman have already met and returned from the dead Mayor’s house, and Batman has possibly already investigated the morgue. There is no way this scene is happening after the funeral bomb scene. I’m doubtful that it takes place even after Catwoman goes undercover to 44 Below, since right after that scene the Riddler’s next victim is already in his clutches. It would have had to happen before the second Catwoman scene, in my opinion. Anywhere else, and it makes no sense.

What can we learn about The Batman 2 from this deleted scene?

This scene is especially interesting to me if we assume that, though it was removed from the movie, it is still canon to this new Batman universe. At the end of The Batman, with the Joker revealed at the very end in the cell beside Riddler’s, I personally assumed that Batman has yet to encounter him, and this Joker has been incarcerated long before Bruce Wayne entered this vigilante emo stage. This scene makes it clear though, the Batman and Joker have already met and fought, and it has been almost a year since then.

Personally, though I would have to speculate, that gives me an idea of what the next Batman movie will be. The Joker being shown at the end of The Batman, for me, is a pretty strong indication of who the next villain the series plans to tackle next. However, with the Joker already behind bars, that makes me think this next film will be similar to the video game Batman Arkham Asylum. In that game, a recently imprisoned Joker conducts his next evil plot within the confines of the infamous jail. The Batman seems to set itself up in that way, with the Joker seeming to have quick influence over Riddler. Perhaps he gets into the minds of other baddies and evil doers there too? With the Joker wanting something big to commemorate his and Batman’s anniversary, what better than a mass prison riot of supervillains?

Why was the scene removed from the final cut of The Batman?

The only other thing to think about is why this scene was removed in the first place. Well, I can certainly think of a couple reasons. For one, the Batman coming to the Joker for help finding another villain gives off very Silence of the Lambs. The movie is busy enough paying homage to Seven,  so they probably figured two different allusions to classic movies was one too many.

In terms of subtext, the scene does do something. Joker’s line, “Maybe he’s a fan of yours? Or maybe he’s got a grudge against you, too,” gives direct foreshadows to two elements of the ending. One, that the Riddler is a huge Batman fanboy. Two, that the Riddler may know the Batman’s identity. The Joker speculating that the Riddler is out to kill the Batman is reinforced when one of his targets is revealed to be Bruce Wayne, and of course that psych-out moment in the prison when the Riddler makes the audience believe he had truly cracked the code behind Batman’s mask.

However, plot wise, this scene gives nothing in terms of story progression. The fact that I can’t take a guess as to what scene would have followed this one speaks to that. Batman doesn’t learn anything from the Joker about the Riddler, not really. For my money, this scene is just introducing some of the ideas that will come into play at the end, and makes the Batman/Riddler parallel that they were going for more obvious.

So, personally, I think it was a good move cutting this scene. Besides everything I just said, on a general level, wouldn’t it have been distracting to introduce the Joker into the story? One villain at a time folks, I only have so much black eye shadow.