The Batman
The surpriseannouncement of a solo moviestarring Jared Leto ’s variant of theJokerraises a spate of questions about where the clown prince of offense ’s film tally into the DC Extended Universe . Leto first took on the purpose in 2016’sSuicide Squad , which was a huge financial success , but received middling reviews and was just as polarizing as the other non - Wonder WomanDCEU entries . No look of the film was as divisive as Leto ’s Joker ; taking up the mantelpiece of Batman ’s groovy foeman after the late Heath Ledger was never going to be an well-off task , but introducing him as a fair minor comportment inSuicide Squadwas a baffling choice . The Joker really did n’t even have a purpose in the main Enchantress plot of ground , but was there to process Harley Quinn ’s ( Margot Robbie ) character evolution , largely through flashback . Harley ended up beingSuicide Squad’sbreakout character , and most proposed plans for the DCEU Joker ’s future tense are tied to her .
News that an unrelated , Martin Scorsese produced Joker solo plastic film -which may asterisk Joaquin Phoenix- was in development only muddy up the water further . Development on Leto ’s own solo flick at least shows that Warner Bros. believes in that reading of the character and are attend to dilate on it in some unconventional ways , but what on the button are those way of life ? The DCEU is in a res publica of originative fluxion at the bit , with more movie in development than seemingly could ever really be produced , and some obviously contradicting the being of others . We ’re attempt to depend at the Joker film through that lens , and answer how it may end up fitting into the bombastic framework of DC ’s ever changing share cinematic universe .
Will Batman Be In It?
There are a wad of unusual aspects to the DCEU , but perhaps the most improper choice was to begin it with a version of Batman who ’s already been fight down crime in Gotham for 20 long time , making Batman something of a superhero elderly citizen compare to the other , more conventionally aged DC heroes . We do n’t know a lot of specific details about this Batman ’s past , but we do have a go at it he ’s tangled with the Joker plenty of time - and a graffitied Robin costume in a presentation case inBatman V Superman : Dawn of Justicesuggests the two have already gone throughsome of the darker chaptersof their storeyed amusing book rivalry . And yet the pair have n’t really had an onscreen encounter yet ; Batman intercepts the Joker and Harley at the beginning ofSuicide Squad , but the Joker get out before there ’s any real fundamental interaction between the two .
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It seems highly improbable that first face-off would take topographic point in a Joker solo celluloid . At the moment , it ’s not even a indisputable thing who will be playing Batman when next we see him - though the rumor mill suggestsBen Affleck is currently angle towards returningto the role . If Batman were to spiel any meaning role in the film , it fundamentally becomes a Batman flick or else of a Joker movie . The ostensive point of a Joker solo film would be search the character in a Modern direction , unmoored from the common figure of speech and fibre he work with . Adding Batman to that equivalence would make the movie pointless .
Is Harley Quinn In It?
Suicide Squadmade Harley Quinn a household name . Robbie ’s dynamic carrying out as the Joker ’s lover / sidekick was one of the few things about the movie most people could gibe on . consider the Joker really does n’t have any sort of ground supporting cast of his own beyond Harley , it would be easy to take over she ’d spiel a role in his solo film .
But this a case where the ballooning slating of DCEU cinema in development would seem to undersell common sense . Not only is Harley already slat to be inSuicide Squad 2,Birds of Prey , andGotham City Sirens , she ’s supposedly supposed to star alongside her darling puddin ' in a separateJoker vs. Harleyfilm . By all account statement , the Joker solo film is not theJoker / Harleyfilm , so unless that project has fallen through - and we ’ve had no indication it has - Harley showing up for the Joker ’s independent outing would n’t make much sense .
Page 2:Suicide Squad 2 and The Batman Movie
Does It Connect To Suicide Squad 2?
Despite the fact that the Joker was a surprisingly venial presence inSuicide Squad , it ’s been confirmed Leto will be yield for the continuation . That movie end with Joker busting Harley out of prison house , so if he ’s act as a theatrical role in the picture , it ’s probably not as a member of Task Force X himself . Perhaps the sequel ’s producers will end up doing what many people thought was going to happen with the first film and make Joker the Squad ’s primary antagonist - with a deeply conflicted Harley by his side .
Suicide Squad 2has been in ontogeny much longer than this proposed Joker film , so the events of the former would probably inform the latter . We still do n’t cognise enough aboutSuicide Squad 2to say for indisputable , but if Harley ultimately sided with Deadshot and friends over the Joker , that would leave an first step for a truly demented , Harley - less Joker romp .
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Is He The Hero, Villain, Or Anti-Hero?
The whimsey of the Joker starring in his own movie is jar for a lot of reasonableness , but perhaps the most obvious is that he ’s an absolutely remorseless behemoth . He ’s one of fable neat villains , but that does n’t necessarily make him a prime candidate to be the champion of a movie . Indeed , part of the Joker ’s dark appealingness is that he ’s inherently unknowable , more a violent force of nature than a fully realise human being . peradventure the Scorsese - produce edition will be enough of a reimagining to playact outside of those parameters , but we ’ve seen enough of Leto ’s Joker to know he ’s the traditional , soulless ghoul iteration .
So how do you make a pic that revolves around that guy ? One path would be to pit him against a character so overpowering evil and destructive that he cease up as a reluctant hero out of ego - stake . It would also be potential to lean into the fact that past iteration of the role have shown an ability to " evolve " into wildly different personalities , some of them bordering on innocuous , if not exactly heroical . Among the many obstacles this movie face , perhaps its expectant is make the Joker a functional protagonist that audiences would want to root for , and would demand some seriously impressive trickery by the writers to make body of work .
Does This Mean The Batman Won’t Use Him?
Of the DCEU films that are almost certainly operate to get made , the biggest question mark isThe Batman . After the Caped Crusader ’s decidedly mixed reception inBatman V SupermanandJustice League , no one is quite sure what we ’re lead to get with Matt Reeves ' solo film . The writer / director has said that while the moving-picture show will take place within the DCEU , it will be mostly confused from the other DCEU films . Batman V SupermanandJustice Leaguehappen on such a massive , superpowered scale that to mostly ignore them reach a sure amount of sense for what will probably be a grittier , street horizontal surface celluloid , butSuicide Squadinvokes so much of Batman ’s world that it would be close to impossible to not touch on it , certainly not if it intends to use the Joker .
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But so far there have been no indications that the Joker will play a function in Reeves ' film . To be fair , there are no indication ofanyoneplaying any function inThe Batmanyet - not even Ben Affleck . But even therumor mill advise the likes of the Penguinand the Riddler are more potential than the Joker . It ’s potential Leto ’s interpretation of the case simply does n’t fit with what Reeves has planned , as he ’s draw his desire to recount a belittled exfoliation , neo - noir police detective narrative . A Joker solo movie could be something of a solace booty , or maybe he ’s simply being hold open for a continuation down the road , but a Joker who never has a proper face off with Batman would be a very foreign development .
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There are some genuinely important questions to be require about this movie , and many of them involve the same fundamental enquiry : Why does this exist?It ’s entirely possible Warner Bros. really does think this version of the character is strong enough to carry his own film . Leto is sure a talented enough actor to make it work if he ’s surrounded with the proper originative squad . And yet there ’s the ineluctable feeling that this exists because Warner Bros. are n’t on the dot sure what to do with the case , so they ’re trying a dozen different things and seeing which one sticks . Of all the option on the table , aJokersolo film is in all probability the bad , and if it ’s going to work , Warner Bros. will have to get it exactly veracious .
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