Major spoilers to follow.
Robert Pattinson as The Batman
With an ending that showcases the Riddler finally being apprehended by Gotham PD and taken away to Arkham Asylum, where he will spend what most Gothamites hope would be the “rest of his life” at the mental institution, a secret cameo from a very familiar fan-favorite character might have just teased what is to come next for a potential The Batman sequel.
In the specific scene in question, as the Riddler is shown licking his wounds in his cell, he is spoken to by a heavily silhouetted figure in another cell beside his own. As the camera pans in, this mysterious figure turns out to be none other than the Clown Prince of Crime himself, The Joker, who commends his fellow inmate on his achievements and confidently promises Paul Dano’s Riddler that they will not be spending too long a time in Arkham, alluding to an inevitable escape.
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This tease, if you will, sets up the perfect premise for a Riddler and Joker team up for the sequel, thereby opening up the world that Matt Reeves has created to include more Batman villains from his Rogues Gallery. Such a combination would result in a deadly game of cat and mouse for the Caped Crusader, as he will not only have to deal with the meticulous and highly intelligent Riddler but also the unpredictable nature of the Joker himself.
That being said, we do wonder if a sophomore offering to The Batman might be a little too enthusiastic in terms of wanting to include The Joker into its canon. This is simply because we have had plenty of variations of the character in live-action thus far, and an immediate inclusion of The Clown Prince of Crime in the next installment to The Batman might receive a less than satisfactory welcome due to what can be perceived to be audience fatigue towards the character.
Still, as ardent Batman fans ourselves, we would certainly like to see where the sequel manages to place both the Riddler and the Joker as they work together to take down the Bat and send Gotham City spiraling into chaos at the very same time.
As of the time of writing, a sequel to the film has indeed been greenlit, meaning that it will be only a matter of time until we receive more details on which characters will be introduced into this new Matt Reeves universe for the Dark Knight. One thing is for certain, though, we can expect a much darker and more grounded Joker than the ones we have seen on screen thus far, which would create an exciting experience for audiences regardless of how many iterations of the character we have had over the years.