Say what you will aboutJoker, but it’s certainly unlike anything Warner Bros. has made in its current iteration of the DC Universe. WhileBatman v Superman: Dawn of Justiceis gritty andSuicide Squadreimagines the Joker character in a, uh,differentway, neither of those films come close to the specific vision or, frankly, unsettling grit and grime of directorTodd Phillips’ origin tale. Of course they couldn’t, because they were operating under very different parameters. While WB was previously focused on building out the DC Extended Universe as a franchise that could rival the Marvel Cinematic Universe,Jokeris wholly unconcerned with sequels, canon, or cohesively connecting to any other movie. And by diverting from the traditional road,Jokerends up charting a uniquely successful path down which DC Films can finally stand alone.
Jokeroriginated with a unique idea that came at just the right time. In 2016, Warner Bros. was releasing what it hoped would be its defining film of the “DC Extended Universe”:Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. While directorZack Snyder’s Superman rebootMan of Steelserved as a test balloon of sorts to see if the “gritty reboot” formula ofBatman Beginscould be translated to other DC heroes,Batman v Supermanwas the first new DC film created with further movies and a cohesive universe in mind. It introducedGal Gadot’s Wonder Woman,Ben Affleck’s Batman, andEzra Miller’s The Flash while also planting story seeds that Snyder hoped to pay off in future sequels—likehis planned two-partJustice Leagueadaptation.
Warner Bros. was so bullish onBatman v Supermanthat they already had Snyder directing the firstJustice Leaguemovie, with filming on that superhero team-up set to begin just three weeks afterBatman v Supermanhit theaters. In a shock to the studio, however, critics and audiences were taken aback by the profound joylessness that permeated the first live-action onscreen pairing of the two most popular superheroes in history. This was by design, mind you—Snyderwantedto make a dark and deadly serious movie—but all involved figured audiences would spark to this as a contrast to the bright and colorfulAvengersmovies over at Marvel Studios.
As it turns out, they didn’t.Batman v Superman’s box office plummeted nearly 70% in its second weekend, and the film ended up underperforming as a whole ($873.6 million worldwide is nothing to scoff at, but WB expected $1 billion at least). Almost immediately, the studio beganattempting to retoolthe about-to-start-filmingJustice Leagueand the already-wrappedSuicide Squad, twisting and morphing these gritty, grounded superhero films into Frankenstein’d lively affairs.
This context is necessary because it was in the midst of this uncertainty at Warner Bros. that Todd Phillips first approached the studio aboutJoker. His idea? Create a singular, standalone origin story movie about the iconic DC Comics villain that would be more in the vein ofTaxi DriverthanIron Man. No sequel potential and no franchise connections, and an R-rating—all of which were intended to create an abundant amount of creative freedom.
The studio was understandably apprehensive at first, but began to warm to the idea as they realized their DCEU was not going to be launching as swimmingly as they’d hoped. Names likeLeonardo DiCaprioandMartin Scorsesewere linked to the film, and an air of prestige surrounded the project while the studio was simultaneously trying to “fix” its other DC movies that had left the station.
Cut to October 2019 andJokerhas won the Golden Lion award at the Venice Film Festival and launched to record-breaking box office and Oscar buzz for starJoaquin Phoenix’s tortured performance. Reactions to the film are strong as Phillips did indeed make a disturbing, violent, and purposefully provocative origin story for The Joker. The potentially dangerous ramifications for making a movie about a sad, mentally ill individual who takes violent action so that people will notice him are certainly up for debate, and reviews have cooled a bit since Venice. But I’d argue that regardless of whether you love or hateJoker, it’s a step in the right direction for DC Films.
DC’s biggest competition in the feature film sphere is, of course, Marvel Studios, which not only had a head start with 2008’sIron Man, but also got its missteps out of the way early and cheaply (here’s lookin’ at youThe Incredible Hulk,Iron Man 2, andThor: The Dark World). But the Marvel Cinematic Universe is also constrained. Filmmakers are given a more limited degree of creative freedom as evidenced by the public disputes between directors likeJoss Whedon,Alan Taylor, andEdgar Wrightwith the studio. That’s not to say interesting movies likeBlack PantherandThor: Ragnarokcan’t be made, but under the “rules” of the MCU, Marvel would never allow, say,Quentin Tarantinoto come in and create a one-off riff on Black Widow. But DC could welcome theOnce Upon a Time…in Hollywooddirector with open arms.
Indeed, the public implosion of the DCEU may have been the best thing to happen to Warner Bros. It took a few years and oneWonder Womanfor the studio to realize that the less “connected” its films were to each other, the greater the possibility. The studio tried (and failed)to salvageJustice League, and then moved on, opting to focus on making one movie at a time rather than trying to rush towards someAvengers-style team-up. Films likeAquamanandShazam!still leave the door open for their characters to mingle with others from the DC Universe, but they’re also not incredibly concerned with laying down those connections.
And then there’sJoker, which shows that Warner Bros is unafraid to let a director with a specific vision and a tremendous acting talent come in and put their own stamp on a famous character. Phillips’ film doesn’t attempt to explain why Phoenix is now playing The Joker instead ofJared Leto, nor does it try and find some harebrained backdoor into the DCEU. It just tells its story the way Phillips intended (for better or worse). Could there be a sequel?Maybe. But unlike almost every other major piece of IP in Hollywood, that’s not the primary goal here.
That’s something Marvel Studios can’t afford to do (and doesn’t really need to given that it releasedthe biggest movie of all time), andJokeralmost serves as an invitation to other filmmakers to come play in the DC sandbox in any way they want, without fear of interconnected franchise strings attached. ImagineLynne RamsayorKaryn Kusamabeing given the freedom to dowhatever they wantwith a character like Robin or Catwoman. Think ofBrad PittorDenzel WashingtonorFrances McDormandbeing lured to a DC movie by the prospect of crafting something wholly unique and completely singular.
Jokerwas a risk in terms of tone and rating, but not an incredibly expensive one, and it appears to have paid off in spades. While Warner Bros. has other promising DC films in the works now likeCathy Yan’sBirds of PreyorJames Gunn’sThe Suicide Squad, I’m hopeful thatJokeris the beginning of additional bold, ambitious, and standalone takes on iconic characters from unexpected filmmakers and performers.
