Jared Leto's Standalone Joker Film Makes No Sense For Many Reasons

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If there’s a reason for this movie to be even talked about I’d like to know as this comes across as a fucking stupid idea!

If you don’t know what I’m talking about, a couple of days ago Variety reported that Warner Bros and DC Films are looking into the idea of making a standalone Joker film starring and executive produced by Jared Leto, who played the character in Suicide Squad.

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It’s still in very early development as no writer or director has been attached, but WB and DC’s main idea is to branch out from Suicide Squad with future instalments with Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn/Birds of Prey the first to begin filming in early 2019.

Personally, the thinking making spin-offs from Suicide Squad as the film was a major box office success making over $746 million in the worldwide box office and now whatever it’s made in home entertainment release could be close to a billion (if you add merchandise too).

So from a studio view, it makes perfect sense and they are moving forward with different films, the aforementioned Quinn/BoP directed by Cathy Yan, Suicide Squad 2 with Gavin O’Connor at the helm and then you have Gotham City Sirens and the Joker/Harley movie under development and the J&H film has Crazy Stupid Love’s, Glenn Ficarra and John Requa set to direct.

Personally, I can’t see a solo Joker DCU film working especially with the Todd Phillips directed, Joaquin Phoenix set to star as the Clown Prince of Crime with Martin Scorsese producing.

This Phillips film will be an origin story that will kickstart a brand new banner under DC Films and will focus on Elseworlds stories.

The other reason for Leto’s Joker film not work, it would confuse audiences and it really isn’t needed. If anything Leto should get firmly behind the Joker and Harley film and help get that into shooting some point in early 2019, ideally after Yan has finished.

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However, that would have to depend on Robbie wanting to play the character for basically a full year in three different projects as it’s rumoured SS2 could also be filming next year.

The J&H film is ideal for Leto and Joker is because it could be the perfect in between of Squad and BoP as we can learn how Harley left Joker and became her own anti-hero with the ideal title of Mad Love.

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On the other hand, the reason why these sort of very early development DC projects get leaks is that DC Films chief Walter Hamada gets an idea of what the public and film fans reaction to it.

Finally, while I like the fact Hamada and his team have, by the looks of things, an open door policy for pitches not everything needs to be made especially when you’ve got a Joker Elseworlds standalone already in development and a perfect Joker lead film for Leto to get behind.