Warner Bros. is working on another Batman Universe spinoff movie. Their latest plans include a Joker origin story.
Deadline reports that Warner Bros. is in the early stages of a standalone origin film based off the Joker. It will have Martin Scorsese, Todd Phipps, and Scott Silver overseeing the project. The initial report indicates The Hangover’s Todd Phillips will co-write the movie with 8 Mile’s Scott Silver. Phillips recently directed War Dogs starring Jonah Hill. Silver’s recent credits include The Fighter and Stronger.
Phillips will also direct the movie and produce it with Martin Scorsese.
The report states that DC and Warner Bros. are in the very early stages of film development.
However, some details have slipped out. The movie aims to be a hard crime film set in an early ’80s Gotham City. The feel of the movie will be very much like Scorsese’s films from that era like Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, or The King Of Comedy.
Probably the biggest drop from this report is that Jared Leto will not play the Joker. In fact, this project will not be launched under the DC Extended Universe (DCEU) banner. Instead it will “be the first film under a new banner that has yet to be named in which WB can expand the canon of DC properties and create unique storylines with different actors playing the iconic characters.”
Warner Bros. is looking for a “possibly younger” actor to take on the Joker.
The idea that Warner Bros. is opening up their DC Comics movies to an unconnected movie universe is a huge move, but it also fits within what DC has been doing with their comics and animated movies for awhile. While this might not be “connected” to the DCEU, it is quite possible they are related. We could see multiple Jokers from different dimensions or even timelines.
In fact, Warner Bros. did reveal the Flash’s upcoming movie will be called Flashpoint. In that comic book storyline, Barry Allen creates an alternate timeline called Flashpoint that houses very different takes on the DC characters. Wonder Woman and Aquaman are at war. Bruce Wayne is dead and his father Thomas Wayne becomes Batman while his mother, Martha Wayne, becomes the Joker.
This branch from the DCEU also opens up enormous story telling possibilities and doesn’t require someone fine combing over every detail to make sure continuity is consistent throughout each movie.
What do you think? Do you think this is a brilliant move by Warner Bros. or is it a complete dud?