Barry Keoghan is Officer Stanley Merkel... or is he?

[antsman41]

None joke theory: Barry is the lead of the Gotham PD show. Reeves said it was about one cop’s path of redemption. He’ll have a minor supporting role in this for creative tissue.

That would play, he just dropped out of two big films recently.

 

[Sterling Archer]

None joke theory: Barry is the lead of the Gotham PD show. Reeves said it was about one cop’s path of redemption. He’ll have a minor supporting role in this for creative tissue.

The only reason I don't believe this is because the Gotham PD show is a prequel. Reeves didn't necessarily say it was about redemption, but a "battle for his soul". Having the main character of the show in the movie would kind of spoil the fate of that battle wouldn't it?

 

[antsman41]

Knowing where Saul is in BrBa doesn’t hinder the masterful work that is Better Call Saul.

 

[emielaen]

Knowing where Saul is in BrBa doesn’t hinder the masterful work that is Better Call Saul.

Ding!

PS. That show is fantastic.

 

[Sawyer]

Not a head-on shot, so it’s hard to tell, but it could be him.

 

[weezerspider]

This guy is a great actor, but he looks like a Tintin character

 

[antsman41]

Always liked him... the was super surprised by his crazy depth in Killing Of A Sacred Deer.

 

[BigBatTheory]

The only reason I don't believe this is because the Gotham PD show is a prequel. Reeves didn't necessarily say it was about redemption, but a "battle for his soul". Having the main character of the show in the movie would kind of spoil the fate of that battle wouldn't it?

Yeah I think it's likely he will have a reoccurring role in the show, but Reeves specified that the lead cop has been on the force for a significant amount of time (i forget the exact wording).

 

[BigBatTheory]

Jett at Batman on Film has been teasing for a while now that Barry Keoghan's role is more than what they are saying. And Jett is truly a reliable so we should take it seriously and theorize his possible role beyond just being Merkel.

This video is the clearest shot of Barry's role in the scene and it is... shockingly minimal here. He appears to be acting as nothing more than a valet (other shots have Bruce taking out 100 dollar bills, and then later carrying a small orange ticket), and Bruce noticeably pays him almost no attention. That reminds me of the scene in Se7en where John Doe is disguised as a reporter and the audience doesn't even see his face, but the scene is used as a callback later. I wouldn't be surprised if they did something similar here.

 

[Sawyer]

“His role is bigger than it appears!”

CUT TO Merkel being the new Mike Engel.

 

[BigBatTheory]

Well they definitely wouldn't list him as a supporting role like Merkel to cover for the fact he is only a valet with 15 seconds of screen time. So clearly this valet has a larger role in the story which is just... so confusing. Like he's probably a cop, probably actually Stanley Merkel, but why make THIS the way the character is introduced to Bruce. It's so odd it must be significant.

 

[shauner111]

Well they definitely wouldn't list him as a supporting role like Merkel to cover for the fact he is only a valet with 15 seconds of screen time. So clearly this valet has a larger role in the story which is just... so confusing. Like he's probably a cop, probably actually Stanley Merkel, but why make THIS the way the character is introduced to Bruce. It's so odd it must be significant.

If he’s a cop, I don’t see him doing this type of stuff in that scene. If he’s just Stanley Merkel for a Gotham P.D show, he wouldn’t be hanging around doing insignificant ****. His arc in the show will likely be that of a man who is broken by his experiences right? Either death or jail. And we both know Barry Keoghan will not be cast to be a valet lol. Matt wouldn’t do that and Barry wouldn’t cancel projects for it.

So, he has to be something bigger. Joker, Mad Hatter and Dick Grayson are the big three. Could he be Riddler’s right hand? Possible. Joker at this point seems too out in the open. And if that’s indeed him in the photos/videos, he looks hella young. Like 20 or under. This leads me to...a new introduction of Dick Grayson, sprinkled throughout the movie. Little encounters with Bruce Wayne. Robin/Nightwing is Barry’s dream role after all (and he’d certainly drop ANY project to play him).

This is one of the reasons why I don’t think it’s even Barry in the pics. If I didn’t see his eyes and side profile, I’d say it’s him. But it just doesn’t look like Keoghan to me when I zoom in to his face. Maybe the actor couldn’t make it to Liverpool in time, so they got a stand in for the quick valet shot? THAT i could believe. But I’m gonna need HQ shots of his face for me to start following the crowd.

 

[Erik Lensherr]

This video is the clearest shot of Barry's role in the scene and it is... shockingly minimal here. He appears to be acting as nothing more than a valet (other shots have Bruce taking out 100 dollar bills, and then later carrying a small orange ticket), and Bruce noticeably pays him almost no attention. That reminds me of the scene in Se7en where John Doe is disguised as a reporter and the audience doesn't even see his face, but the scene is used as a callback later. I wouldn't be surprised if they did something similar here.

I like this theory

 

[Mindreaper21]

This is a huge reach, but he could still be Stanley Merkle and Mad Hatter. Stanley Merkle could be a play on the names Stanley Holloway (the original narrator of the Alice in Wonderland book) and Louis Merkle (the actor of the Doormouse in the 1915 film). This is if his obsession with Alice in Wonderland really runs that deeply. He’s probably also gone by other names of people associated with the story. His birth name could still be Jervis Tech, but he could use these names until he ultimately decides to reinvent himself as The Mad Hatter.

 

[BigBatTheory]

This is a huge reach, but he could still be Stanley Merkle and Mad Hatter. Stanley Merkle could be a play on the names Stanley Holloway (the original narrator of the Alice in Wonderland book) and Louis Merkle (the actor of the Doormouse in the 1915 film). This is if his obsession with Alice in Wonderland really runs that deeply. He’s probably also gone by other names of people associated with the story. His birth name could still be Jervis Tech, but he could use these names until he ultimately decides to reinvent himself as The Mad Hatter.

I wrote an extended tweet on my "Merkel is also Mad Hatter" theory. I think it makes the most sense with what we know now. I'm guessing he is a corrupt cop and he is the middle man that helps distribute any drugs obtained in raids and what not. He's the valet, the dealer, the cop, the gofer. He wears a lot of hats lol. I think if he is Mad Hatter AND Merkel it will be far from a faithful adaption, but he'd still probably have identical twin muscle in the form of the Carver twins as a downplayed version of Tweedle-dee and Tweedle-dum.

 

[Mindreaper21]

Maybe he’s not a cop at all. It makes more sense for Hatter to have a job where he can be virtually invisible. Let’s say that they wanted to go with him kidnapping children. Being a vallet would be perfect, because he would have access to people’s personal information as well as who’s riding in the vehicles. He could slip tracking devices under the seats and stalk their homes.

 

[Eddie Dean]

 

[shauner111]

Dick Grayson yo

 

[Eddie Dean]

Wouldn’t that be a little too Robin John Blake?

 

[shauner111]

Not if he’s not a cop in this. Maybe I interpreted Jett’s mysterious replies the wrong way, but it almost seemed like he was trying to say Officer Stanley Merkel is just a written fakeout.

I could totally believe that Dick Grayson could be working a job as a valet or whatever while doing his own private detective work to see who killed his parents (target - Cobblepot/Falcone). When in fact it could be more directly related to the Court of Owls.

 

[Art Vandelay]

Dick Grayson yo

Dick Grayson no

 

[Eddie Dean]

Not if he’s not a cop in this. Maybe I interpreted Jett’s mysterious replies the wrong way, but it almost seemed like he was trying to say Officer Stanley Merkel is just a written fakeout.

I could totally believe that Dick Grayson could be working a job as a valet or whatever while doing his own private detective work to see who killed his parents (target - Cobblepot/Falcone). When in fact it could be more directly related to the Court of Owls.

Nah dude this idea sucks. Robin shouldn’t be the same age as Batman. He’s a cop. He’s wearing a cop uniform. He’s not a velvet.

 

[shauner111]

He’s not the same age as Batman. Whether that is Barry on set or someone else, he barely looks 20 there.

 

[Eddie Dean]

Lol no dude. He looks like an adult. A young adult but way too old for Robin. We already did that with JGL. No thank you.

 

[shauner111]

I didn’t say he didn’t look like an adult. I said he barely looks 20. He looks like my nephew’s age, who just turned 19.

And how is he wearing a cop uniform? He is clearly Bruce Wayne’s valet in that scene. Bruce even gives him money.