Simu Liu and Barry Keoghan share a sweet exchange over ‘The Batman’

Warning: This article contains spoilers for The Batman.

Marvel stars Simu Liu and Barry Keoghan have shared a sweet exchange on social media over the latter’s memorable role in The Batman. Both of these actors made their MCU debuts in 2021, with Liu joining the franchise in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings in the title role and Keoghan playing Druig in Eternals. Keoghan has now followed that up by boarding the DC universe too, in Robert Pattinson’s brand-new Bat-movie.

Spoilers from this point on…

The Irish star’s presence in The Batman was kept tightly under wraps beforehand, and now we know why. Keoghan only has a brief cameo in the film, but it’s one that sets up a major role for him in the sequel. OK, cards on the table — Keoghan cameos as the Joker, in a teaser near the movie’s end. It’s a mind-blowing cameo for the Eternals star, and Liu echoed fans’ thoughts on it with a brief tweet that went viral. “Damn,” Liu wrote before tagging Keoghan.

Keoghan responded to the message, which was clearly intended as praise for his Joker debut, by sending Liu back a heart emoji. Superheroes supporting superheroes, we love to see it.

Though it’s too early to have this outright confirmed, it seems likely that Keoghan’s Clown Prince of Crime will serve as the main villain of The Batman 2. What’s more, he’ll presumably return as Druig in Eternals 2. So Keoghan looks set to rule the comic book movie world over the next few years. Liu, for his part, will also no doubt have a big future in the MCU – with Shang-Chi’s bound to join the ranks of the Avengers at some point.

If you haven’t done so already, catch The Batman in theaters now.