‘The Batman’ Quietly Casts Barry Keoghan As Officer Stanley Merkel
Following the buzzy panel forThe Batmanat this past weekend’s virtual DC FanDome event (where we learned that Colin Farrell with a ton of prosthetics looksa lot like Richard Kind), Warner Bros. quietly slipped in a new piece of casting news in its press release for the highly anticipatedMatt Reevessuperhero movie.Barry Keoghanwas revealed to be joiningThe Batmancast in the press release, and the young actor will be appearing as a character named Officer Stanley Merkel.
Barry Keoghan Joins The Batman Cast
It seemed like the buzz could not be higher forThe Batman, with each piece of news frantically pored over and taken apart by fans. But Warner Bros. may have considered one piece of news not big enough for a flashy announcement, quietly introducing a piece of casting in a press release sent out during DC FanDome. Warner Bros. revealed thatDunkirkstar Barry Keoghan, who is set to star in a Marvel superhero movie in the upcomingThe Eternals, has joinedThe Batmancast as a character named Officer Stanley Merkel.
Fans of the Batman comic books may know Merkel as Commissioner James Gordon’s first partner, first introduced by Frank Miller in 1987’sBatman Year Oneand subsequently killed by Sofia Falcone inBatman: Dark Victory.
Considering that Reeves confirmed thatThe Batmanwill draw inspiration fromBatman: Year Twoand follow the Caped Crusader in hissecond year of crimefighting, as he’s taking part in a “criminological experiment” to try to change Gotham for the better, it makes sense that a character from Gordon’s early career will appear in the film. Though there is more of a significant age gap between Keoghan (who, likeTheBatmanstarRobert Pattinson, carved out a niche with films from indie studio A24) andJeffrey Wright’s Gordon than the same characters have in the comics. Keoghan is probably best associated with his creepy, sociopathic turns in films like Yorgos Lanthimos’The Killing of a Sacred Deer, which makes me think he’ll put a more sinister turn on the character of Stanley Merkel. Though he’s got a major role inThe Eternalscoming up, I wonder if Keoghan will keep hanging out in Gotham City, with Reeves' teasing of aGotham PDseries that will spin off from the film following its corrupt police force. That would give Keoghan a lot of meat (or spaghetti) to chew on.
The BatmanstarsRobert Pattinsonas Batman;Zoë Kravitzas Catwoman;Paul Danoas The Riddler;Jeffrey Wright as Commissioner Gordon;John Turturroas Carmine Falcone;Peter Sarsgaardas Gil Colson, Gotham’s district attorney;Jayme Lawsonas Bella Reál, a mayoral candidate in Gotham;Andy Serkisas Alfred; andColin Farrellas the Penguin.TheBatmanopensOctober 1, 2021.
