Warner Bros. Discovery has probably already decided who will lead DC Studios. James Gunn and Peter Safran have jointly assumed leadership responsibilities, which suggests that the studio is looking for a new way for the franchise. This could be assumed if it were not for the forthcoming sequel to Joker (2019), i.e. Folie a Deux and The Batman by Matt Reeves, which operates independently of the DC canon. All the director’s ideas seem to be safe for now, because he has signed a general contract with the studio, and already several spin-offs are already in the development phase, such as the announced The Penguin , the series set in the Arkham factory, or even a series devoted to the Gotham police City. Each of them is to appear on the HBO Max platform. If guided by the end of the lastBatman , we should hear about the Riddler (Paul Dano) and the Joker (Barry Keoghan) in the future. The first shot is a long-awaited sequel, but we do not officially know it. Keoghan recently gave an interview with the New York Times , where he shared his ambitious plans for the Joker should he appear in future productions.
It was intimidating, but if you stay honest with yourself, it’s new in and of itself. I know it sounds pretty bad, but I’m a big believer in thinking that as long as I am myself, whatever I do will be completely fresh and unique. I already have a story that I made in case [ The Batman 2] happened – a whole new way to play it.
Keoghan said.
Still from the movie “The Batman” from 2022.
Keoghan’s image of the Joker was quickly likened to the book Death of the Family , where the face of the villain is cut off and reattached, further disfiguring the self-proclaimed crime prince with green hair, bleached skin, and permanent smiles as a result of the chemical incident. Reeves shared his inspiration for his approach to the Joker: it is a tribute to the mutilated mouth of Gwynplaine, a character from The Man Who Laughs (1928). It was this character, played by Conrad Veidt, that became the prototype for the character of the Joker in general .
He never stops smiling. It made Mike [Marino] and I think about it – I was talking about the Elephant Man because I love David Lynch. And I said, ‘Well, maybe this isn’t just about falling into the vat of chemicals, or it’s not about [Christopher] Nolan, where [Joker] has these scars and we don’t know where they come from. What if it’s something he has been affected by since birth and has a congenital disease that keeps him from stopping smiling? On top of that, he had a very dark reaction to it, and he had to spend his whole life with people looking at him in a specific way, and he knows how to get into a man’s head. ‘
The Batman was directed by Matt Reeves, and the cast includes Robbert Pattinson (Bruce Wayne / Batman), Zoë Kravitz (Selina Kyle / Catwoman), Paul Dano (Edward Nashton / The Riddler), Jeffrey Wright (James Gordon), John Turturro (Carmine Falcone), Peter Sarsgaard (Attorney Gil Colson), Jayme Lawson (Bella Real), Andy Serkis (Alfred), and Colin Farrell (Oswald “The Penguin” Cobblepot. The movie is now available on HBO Max.
