Matt Reeves probably didn’t intend to imply what he implied with two specific words during his The Batman Part II casting announcements this week, but what if he did?
This week, the writer and director of the highly anticipated Bat-sequel took to X to announce the cast for the film, which opens October 1, 2027. Reeves posted about everyone, from Batman himself, played by Robert Pattinson, all the way down to new additions like Scarlett Johansson and Sebastian Stan. He even revealed a few names that Hollywood reporters hadn’t picked up on yet, such as Brian Tyree Henry, the award-winning actor best known for his roles on Atlanta, in Marvel’s Eternals, and as the voice of Miles’ dad in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.
Each announcement post came with a short, quippy welcome. “We meet again, my friend.” “Welcome back to the fight, my friend.” “Next exit, Gotham. Welcome.” “Out of the shadows. Welcome.” Those are just a few. But then he came to Tyree Henry, the last of the bunch. The grand finale. And here’s the post.
Welcome to the party, man… 🦇🦇 pic.twitter.com/9ESphamrCI
— Matt Reeves (@mattreevesLA) May 14, 2026
On first inspection, “Welcome to the party, man” seems innocent enough. The movie is the “party,” and he’s welcoming the actor, as he did the others. But some of us viewed the phrase a little differently. This, after all, is about a Batman movie. And fans of Batman movies have heard the phrase “party man” before. Where exactly?
Ahem. “Gentlemen, let’s broaden our minds” with the video.
Yes, “Partyman” is a Prince song written specifically for Tim Burton’s 1989 film Batman. It plays as the Joker (Jack Nicholson) defaces a museum on his way to a date with Vicki Vale.
There’s no way Matt Reeves doesn’t know this. So, probably, he did it as a cheeky wink to fans. A sly, deeper cut Batman reference we can all enjoy with a smile. Or, is it something more?
The way out there hypothesis is that Tyree Henry is playing the Joker or, whatever the Joker is in Matt Reeves “Epic Crime Saga.” Of course, we all saw Barry Keoghan as “Unseen Arkham Prisoner” in the 2022 film, who had a manic smile, laugh, and talked about clowns. We all assume he’s the Joker. Reeves has even talked about him being Joker. But until he’s called the Joker in a movie, anything could happen. Maybe the concept of the Joker is different in this world. Maybe he’s a Joker, not the Joker.
We can also look at Prince’s lyrics to try to decipher Reeves’ meaning. “All hail, the new king in town / Young and old, gather ’round / Black and white, red and green / The funkiest man you’ve ever seen.” In the film, the strong implication is that he’s literally singing about the Joker. But in a broader context, Prince could be talking about any kind of boisterous, powerful, flamboyant person who loves to have a good time. Maybe Tyree Henry’s character is something like that.
Or maybe Reeves just meant “Welcome to the party, Brian.”
Do you think Reeves knew what he was doing when he used those words? Did he mean anything by it? Let us know below.
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