Wait…WHAT? DC fans might be getting a surplus of Joker love in the next year. This is in part to two different films (honestly 3) and a TV show set to portray our beloved Mistah J. Last year, DC decided to make anything and everything for a character into a film which has left us with multiple Joker film on the horizon. Along with Batman, Superman, and now Harley Quinn, the Joker has dominated the comics for many years (78 to be exact). So these characters look to be a big part of the future of DC films.
We have a Joker and Harley Quinn love story coming up, and Gotham City Sirens as well as a solo Harley Quinn film. Whew, that’s a lot of the Clown Prince and Princess! These may mean even more Joker appearances. While everything remains uncertain until it’s set in stone on screen, it looks like in 2019 we may have three live-action versions of the Joker. This includes the Joker Origin film, Suicide Squad 2, and Gotham. We can debate all day if Jerome is the true Joker of Gotham or not (even though the show’s producers said he isn’t) but that’s a whole other story.
Joker Origin Film
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Last summer we were all shocked when a Joker origin film was announced. It leads to a lot of speculation whether or not this occurs after his transformation or if we get to see him before he becomes the Joker we get a glimpse of in The Killing Joke. The film is styled in the gritty noir 80s, and Todd Phillips was announced as the unlikely director and writer of the film. Interesting. But even more interesting is Martin Scorsese will be producing the movie. While the news has been pretty hush hush, we do know the film will be in a separate universe from the main DCEU. All we have to go on right now is the Joaquin Phoenix rumors to play the part of the Clown Prince, but there are many other big names attached.
There’s no word on when the film will be released, or it’s official title, but some information states filming will start in May. If it does start shooting this summer, we can see a 2019 release date. Currently, only two films are slated for 2019, and that will be the release of Shazam! in April and Wonder Woman 2 in November. It might also mean since we love to compete with Marvel, DC could release four films that year since Suicide Squad 2 seems to be arriving soon.
Suicide Squad 2
Ayer’s first film was viewed as largely negative from critics but was a hit with audiences. It did extremely well at the box office, so it wasn’t surprising that a sequel was announced shortly after. But Ayer has exited the film, and the director search has put the film’s future in question. Even with more and more spinoff ideas emerging. Gavin O’Connor is now at the helm, but Suicide Squad 2 still may arrive in 2019. That’s been the theory for a while even with things seemingly on track to be released this year. Now reports say it will be released along with Shazam!, Wonder Woman 2, and possibly even the Joker solo film.
While it seems the Joker origin film is lined up for 2019, Suicide Squad 2 seems even less likely. The main reason is it has a late fall filming start, and they’d have to keep it far enough away from the Wonder Woman release. With two films already locked and loaded, it seems WB will have a hard time placing SS2 without overlap. Judging when filming is set to start, Suicide Squad 2 may just kick off DC’s 2020 film set. Still, that means two Joker films less than a year apart, and that doesn’t include Gotham. But who’s complaining? I’m not!
Gotham
Gotham started off as an amazing DC show, but now it’s kind off gone down the toilet. The series hardly has the strong pull and visibility of a top blockbuster film, but they’ve always been a bit finicky when it comes to character iterations. We’ve yet to have a proper modern Batman or Superman show, and we keep seeing prequel after prequel. Sadly Arrow still can’t use Deathstroke, and Suicide Squad is off-limits even though the show gave them their live-action debut. But, why would that apply to the Joker? He does what he wants! It seems that the actual Joker, not Jerome necessarily, will be coming to Gotham in season 5, that’s if it even makes it there with currently being on life support.
Is There Such A Thing As Too Many Jokers?
The concern always remains the same: is DC overdoing things? That’s always been the reasoning when it comes to restricting usage of certain characters. We’ve seen The Flash have his show, be in Justice League, and will still probably have the show when Flashpoint is released. The comics themselves have rolled out different versions of characters at the same time without affecting sales so why not? It doesn’t seem too much of a risk to have multiple Jokers going on. There’s the issue of if Suicide Squad 2 and the Joker solo film are released the same year with two different actors, it will probably be confusing for general audiences. But hey, most moviegoers don’t even know the difference between Marvel and DC let alone the more detailed universes. Hopefully, we don’t run into that issue and fans can enjoy multiple doses of The Clown Prince of Crime. After all, we now have 3 Jokers in the comics now right?
