Colin Farrell predicted Barry Keoghan would play Joker FIVE YEARS before The Batman

Martin Macdonald - 8 February 2024, 06:30 Share

It seems Colin Farrell is a bit of a mystic, as he predicted that Barry Keoghan would go on to play the Joker five years before he eventually took on the role for The Batman.

The character appears near the end of The Batman in a conversation with The Riddler, played by Paul Dano. It was a short and sweet introduction to this new incarnation of Joker.

Mahjong Scenes in Cinema: What They Reveal About Character and Culture

Thursday 8 January 2026, 08:23

From jump scares to jackpots: why horror movie aesthetics persist in modern online casino design

Tuesday 23 December 2025, 10:29

However, it soon became known that Keoghan had filmed more scenes as the character, and this was shown via a deleted scene that was released. In it, Robert Pattinson's Batman visits the Joker in Arkham Asylum in an attempt to learn more about the murderous Riddler. It was a scene that evoked memories of Hannibal Lecter in The Silence of the Lambs.

Keoghan had already made a name for himself playing a psychopath of sorts in The Killing of a Sacred Deer in which he starred alongside Farrell, who knew back then Keoghan had the acting chops to take on the most famous comic book villain in history.

"That's the freakiest character I've ever played. I don't know if he had a superpower or what, which I never found out," the Irish actor told GQ.

"I remember actually Colin saying 'you're going to play the Joker one day, after this character.'

"I remember him saying that to me, in the hotel. He's like 'this is one of the most evil films, you will play the Joker one day after this.'"

Keoghan intimidated by Heath Ledger's performance

Though Keoghan has short screen time - and even shorter on the theatrical release - he threw himself into the role, which he found intimidating due to having to live up to Heath Ledger's portrayal in The Dark Knight, which earned him a posthumous Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.

“It's very intimidating, " he previously told Collider.

"Heath Ledger was the best for me. So you have a lot of people to draw from and that. But again, you bring your version to it. That's what I do with any character I play, is no one has seen my version of it.

"And again, going back to it, I don't want to be like so-and-so, and follow that method and that method. I want to do me. I want to bring my version, because I feel that is new in a way, and unique, that when you bring your version no one has seen it. And that may make people relate to it. So it was intimidating, but I was excited for it.”

With The Batman: Part II already confirmed, Keoghan has faced questions about whether he will appear again.

And, he's playing it cool for now.

"I can't really say anything about that, my man," Keoghan to Etalk. "But it would be exciting, wouldn't it? To see The Joker come to life again. My smile says it all..."