DC Producing Joker Movie Starring Jared Leto

Variety is reporting that Warner Bros. has recently greenlit a new movie in the DC Extended Universe that will center around Jared Leto’s Joker. Leto first played the Joker in 2016’s Suicide Squad. While the film itself was met with lukewarm reviews, fans generally liked Leto’s interpretation of the iconic Batman villain. Leto, who is also frontman for the rock group 30 Seconds to Mars, will additionally serve as an executive producer of the film. Currently, plot details on the Joker film are being kept under wraps, but the studio hopes to use the film as a launching-off point for future installments in the DC Extended Universe, expanding on the world created in Suicide Squad. The Joker, along with his ally and girlfriend Harley Quinn, were seen by fans as the highlights of the Suicide Squad film. Margot Robbie, who plays Quinn in the film, is also rumored to have a starring role in the upcoming Birds of Prey movie, which is set to introduce several female heroes into the franchise.

News of Leto’s Joker getting a solo film was met with great surprise by entertainment industry insiders. This is due to rumors that director Martin Scorsese was hoping to make a Joker prequel movie set in the 80s. The movie, which still might get produced, would not be set in the continuity of the DC Extended Universe and would show how the Joker became the Clown Prince of Crime in Gotham. Scorsese’s film would not have Leto as the character. Instead, the director is looking at either Leonardo DiCaprio or Joaquin Phoenix for the role, with Phoenix being the current favorite to star in the film.

DC’s announcement of the standalone Joker film comes in the wake of several other major news stories concerning the DC Extended Universe. Last week, Geoff Johns, who heads DC Entertainment, announced that the sequel to 2017’s Wonder Woman would be set in the 80s. Additionally, rumors recently surfaced that the Penguin was being eyed as the major villain for Matt Reeves’ upcoming film The Batman and would make an appearance in Birds of Prey.