Robert Pattinson may be generating unexpected Joker comparisons with his latest performance, but he has no interest in swapping Batman’s cowl for the Clown Prince of Crime.
The conversation began after clips from Pattinson’s new A24 movie Primetime went viral. His heightened portrayal of Chris Hansen prompted viewers to imagine what Pattinson might do with the Joker, with one X post declaring that his version of the character “would’ve been generational” drawing more than seven million views.
Asked by Entertainment Weekly whether he could see himself playing the DC villain, Pattinson quickly redirected the attention to the actor who already occupies that space in Matt Reeves’ Gotham.
“Oh, Jesus. I mean, it’s such a great part…but Barry’s the man,” Pattinson said.
Pattinson’s support comes from actually playing opposite Keoghan
This is more than Pattinson casually endorsing another actor.
Barry Keoghan briefly appeared at the end of 2022’s The Batman as the scarred Arkham inmate who befriends Paul Dano’s Riddler. Matt Reeves later confirmed that the character was his early version of the Joker. A much longer scene, removed from the theatrical cut and released online after the movie opened, showed Pattinson’s Batman visiting Keoghan in Arkham while trying to understand the Riddler.
That sequence gave the two actors considerably more material together than moviegoers originally saw.
Pattinson told Entertainment Weekly, “I loved doing that scene with him so much. I love Barry as well. I think he’s such a phenomenal actor. It was so fun doing that stuff with him. But yeah, I want him to do it. I’m much more interested in that.”
In other words, the viral fan-casting has produced the unusual sight of Batman himself campaigning for someone else to remain the Joker.
Barry Keoghan’s Batman Part II return still isn’t confirmed
Pattinson’s comments should not be mistaken for a casting announcement.
Keoghan has remained deliberately vague about whether his Joker appears in The Batman Part II. Asked directly by WIRED earlier this year whether he would return, he replied, “I cannot answer that question truly, sincerely. Cannot talk about that.”
Reeves has been similarly careful. Back in 2022, he explained that Keoghan’s appearance was designed to establish an early version of the character, not necessarily guarantee that Joker would become the immediate villain of the sequel.
That distinction matters because The Batman Part II has been surrounded by speculation about its villains for years. Keoghan’s name has frequently surfaced in reporting about the sequel, but his return has not received the kind of clear public confirmation attached to Pattinson, Colin Farrell, Jeffrey Wright and several other cast members.
Primetime shows why the Joker idea caught on
The fancasting itself is easy to understand.
In Primetime, Pattinson plays a stylized version of television journalist Chris Hansen, and early clips emphasize an unsettling mixture of theatrical delivery, uncomfortable humor and unpredictable energy. That performance has already inspired memes ahead of the film’s September 25 release.
After years of playing an introverted, obsessive Bruce Wayne, seeing Pattinson operate at the opposite end of that emotional spectrum naturally gave fans another DC character to imagine him as.
Pattinson, though, appears perfectly happy staying on Batman’s side of the interrogation table.
And there is an appealing symmetry to his answer: rather than entertaining yet another Joker casting debate, the actor wants audiences to see more of the version his own Batman has already met.
Whether Matt Reeves agrees remains one of the unanswered questions heading into The Batman Part II, currently set for February 18, 2028.
