Barry Keoghan's deleted Joker scene in The Batman is already being called 'better' than Jared Leto's take

As The Batman continues to dominate the box office, the director of the three-hour long epic – Matt Reeves - has shared a deleted scene of Barry Keoghan’s Joker.

And DC fans are loving it.

Although the Dunkirk star is not officially credited as the Clown Prince of Crime at the end of the film, Keoghan all but confirmed it on Twitter on Thursday when he said he was “very very blessed to play this role” after the “amazing amazing actors” before him.

These include Jack Nicholson (Batman), Heath Ledger (The Dark Knight), Joaquin Phoenix (Joker) and Jared Leto (Suicide Squad) – and it’s the last one which has been ruthlessly mocked in comparison to Keoghan’s performance.

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Leto’s Joker in the 2016 flop has long been criticised by critics and film buffs alike, with the release scoring a 26 per cent rating on the film review site Rotten Tomatoes.

Now, Twitter users are pointing out that we only needed a couple of minutes to be drawn to Keoghan’s take on the comic book villain, in comparison to the Morbius actor:

In the clip, shared by Reeves on Thursday, the brooding billionaire vigilante (played by Twilight’s Robert Pattinson) confronts an inmate in Arkham Asylum as he looks to find out more about The Riddler (Paul Dano) – an enigmatic serial killer taking out key figures from Gotham’s political elite.

Presenting Joker with files about the Riddler’s crimes, Keoghan’s character teases that the interaction marks their “first anniversary” – hinting that it isn’t the first time that the adversary has crossed paths with the superhero.

As the scene progresses, we also see more of Keoghan’s transformation into the Joker, with make-up and prosthetics giving the actor scarring to the skull, hands and face.

Fitting, really, when you consider the fact the character’s origin involves an accident with a vat of chemicals.

Meanwhile, Reeves previously revealed to Collider that the infamous psychopath’s encounter with The Dark Knight was cut from the final film because he “[didn’t think] it was necessary”.

He said: “There was an earlier scene where Batman, because he’s getting these cards and letters from the Ridder, and he’s thinking, ‘Why is this guy writing to me? I’m supposed to be anonymous and he’s putting a lens on me. I don’t like that.’

“So he goes to profile this kind of serial killer.”

Considering what else lies within the lengthy movie (which we won’t spoil here), many hope that Keoghan’s Joker will appear in a sequel to The Batman, which is currently unconfirmed.

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