WB/DC Reportedly Working on the Joker Origin Story Without Jared Leto

Suicide Squad was a very devisive movie among fans and critics alike. It suffered from narrative issues, jerky editing, and an overall weak plot. Likely the most anticipated aspect of the movie became one of the disappointing of them. With any actor taking on such a legendary character, all eyes were on Jared Leto and unfortunately, he simply did not deliver despite several stories on-set indicating just how fearsome he was. Everybody has formed an opinion on him by now, so no need to reiterate it further.

The Joker’s Origins?

According to a source close to Deadline, WB/DC want to expand upon the Joker even more than the current in-universe incarnation. Todd Phillips, known for the Hangover trilogy and most recently, War Dogs, is set to co-write and direct a Joker origin story that does NOT feature Jared Leto. Phillips will co-write the movie with Scott Silver, who is known for 8 Mile and The Fighter. The iconic film director Martin Scorsese will produce. It will be part of a new banner that will create new and unique movies surrounding DC characters.

Well, that’s an odd and interesting combination. Phillips is primarily known for comedies, but isn’t an overall weak director, while Silver is an accomplished writer. Though I’m not particularly pleased with the idea, I don’t hate it… yet.

It seems that there is already a treatment for the story, which seems heavily inspired by Scorsese’s work. The movie will take place in the ’80s and will be a gritty crime drama invoking Scorsese’s most beloved films. If there was ever a tone to shoot for, that’s not a bad one, I suppose.

It’s also interesting to note that the author of the piece confirms that Jared Leto will be in the Suicide Squad sequel and the Harley Quinn spinoff movie.

As far as I can tell, this has yet to be confirmed by DC or WB and Deadline is working off a source that revealed all of this information. Though Deadline is particularly reliable, I’d take this with a grain of salt until I hear anything official. It’s such a random assortment of people that I can’t really buy into it too much. If it is real, I’d be interested to see how it comes together.

What do you think?




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