Despite improving with their latest two films, it doesn’t look like Warner Bros. has their plans sorted out yet. It seems like every week there is another film announced in their lineup, and then news goes silent on that project for months. This cycle might be showing some improvement now, however – in an unlikely place. The upcoming Batman movie from Matt Reeves.
According to Mark Hughes on the latest episode of The Superhero News Show, Warner Bros. might be looking to solve the problem of their planned ‘elseworld’ stories along with the mystery of how Matt Reeves’ The Batman will fit into the shared universe.
Per Hughes:
I think Joaquin Phoenix is playing the Joker in a standalone film, that will possibly wind up not being standalone as the situation evolved with the solo Batman movies and the future of the DCEU shapes up. I haven’t heard anything firm, but I’ve heard certainly whispers from several people that I’ve talked to about that project. And what it sounds like is that if that project takes shape, if Martin Scorsese is going to be on board producing a film with Joaquin Phoenix playing the Joker… so now it looks like there’s going to be that project and I have heard from a few people that there is talk of if [The Joker] movie is really going to go forward and if it’s really that good, if we’re rebooting Batman anyway, he’s going to need a Joker.
We can’t use preexisting Jokers. So we either have Jared Leto showing up as the Joker in some sort of sequel movie, and a Joaquin Phoenix solo Joker movie, and then we have to have another Joker. Wouldn’t it make more sense to take a Martin Scorsese produced Joker with Joaquin Phoenix and wait and see if it works out, then just cross that and have that be the Joker for the new Batman?
While he does specify that this is just a rumor, it would raise more questions than it answers. The idea of Warner Bros. doing standalone DC films has caused people to scratch their heads, and the idea of a standalone Joker film is no exception (despite the appeal of Joaquin Phoenix portraying the clown prince of crime). Last week it was announced that Jared Leto’s Joker would be getting his own film.
So what could this mean for the current status of these characters in the DCEU? If Matt Reeves’s Batman turns out to be separate from Wonder Woman and Justice League, does that mean the caped crusader will be re-cast? And, most importantly, is it a good plan for Warner Bros. to “wait and see” if a standalone Joker film is a success before doing one for the DCEU? We’ll most certainly find out soon.