The Batman deleted scene with Barry Keoghan’s Joker has been released

The Batman deleted scene featuring Barry Keoghan’s Joker has finally been released.

The five-minute scene sees Robert Pattinson’s Batman, in desperate need of help in catching Paul Dano’s Riddler, going to visit the Joker in Arkham.

Not only does it give us a better look at the full Joker design (which was obscured in the final cut of The Batman), but we discover that their fateful meeting comes on the first anniversary of the first time Batman and Joker fought.

In case you needed convincing, Keoghan’s Joker is as menacing and creepy as you could imagine – and has us hoping he’ll be at least one of The Batman 2’s villains.

The scene was first revealed through The Batman’s Rataalada site, which asks you to solves three riddles.

The first asks: "It's not a joke, but sometimes you need to shout it twice to really mean it." The answer? Ha. As in haha.

The second is more straightforward: "To wit: a wild card in the truest sense." The answer to that, of course, is Joker.

The third is, "Once you've been set up, it hits you at the end, straight on.” It took us a minute, but the answer is punchline.

Director Matt Reeves previously revealed to Total Film why the scene was left on the cutting room floor. 

"It was just one of those things where, in the course of the movie, what that scene was doing, other scenes were also doing, and so we didn't need the scene. But as a standalone, that scene is very eerie and creepy and cool," Reeves explained.

For more on The Batman, check out our guides to:

• The Batman Easter eggs and references
• The Batman secret message you missed
• Was Joaquin Phoenix's Joker meant to be in The Batman?
• When is The Batman on HBO Max?
• Who plays Joker in The Batman?
• The best Batman movies, ranked!
• How to watch the DC movies in order