"Batman" director explains Joker scene

Warner Bros. studio and director Matt Reeves unveiled an extended scene with the Joker, which was not included in the box office version of "Batman". According to the director, when coming up with the new version of the famous villain, he drew inspiration from the image of Guinplain from Victor Hugo's novel and the 1928 silent film adaptation.
He stays very tense, visually away from you. I wanted to create a look that seemed special and new, but was absolutely recognizable. He can never stop smiling. That gave me an idea. I started thinking about the Elephant Man because I love David Lynch. And I thought, "Well, maybe he didn't fall in a vat of chemicals, and that's a different story than Nolan, where he has these scars and we don't know where they came from. What if it's something he's been dealing with since birth, like he has a congenital condition that prevents him from stopping to smile?" he commented.
According to Reeves, the character viewers saw in his screenplay "hasn't fully become the Joker yet." "Life has played a cruel joke on him. And this is his backlash, and he's going to end up declaring himself a clown, declaring himself the Joker. That was the idea," the director noted.
An extended scene featuring the Joker can be seen at this link.