Joker
One film that’s set to arrive in 2019 is Todd Phillips’ Joker. At first, the whole thing seemed to be like something that started on Reddit as a joke and news sites ran with it. However, it’s greenlit and happening, with Joaquin Phoenix announced to portray the Clown Prince of Crime in a remarkable casting coup.
The movie, though, is set to be an origin story for Mr. J. It’s not meant to be connected to anything we’ve seen so far and can operate as its own beast. In other words, it’s a standalone of sorts.
Speaking to Collider, Geoff Johns explained what the movie means to DC films and how it fits in:
“DC’s kind of known for its iconic characters and different takes on the characters in different mediums. I feel like that’s kind of what’s happened. Fifteen-to-twenty years down the line you get a Crisis movie with everybody, right? And everyone meet that has ever been in a live action would be a lot of fun but that’s fanboy craziness. To me, the diversity of tone – that everything can kind of coexist. The good stuff sticks and the stuff that doesn’t quite work doesn’t.”
Covertly, Johns may have shown Warner’s hand. Fans have for years debated the possibility of a Multiverse in DC films and a Crisis-style production bringing everything together. Apart from Flashpoint, it’s one of the quickest and easiest ways to reboot things and, as Johns said, “the good stuff sticks and the stuff that doesn’t quite work doesn’t.”
Joker is probably the start of a Gothamverse, where a certain film, directed by Matt Reeves, will likely be set as well. Gotham City isn’t exactly a happy and bright place, and by establishing its own universe, with its own tone and dark characters, it can operate independently of the upbeat and cheerier tones of other projects, such as Shazam!.