Joker Origin Film Still Moving Forward Despite Jared Leto Project

After the shocking reveal that Warner Bros. had plans to make a movie focused on the classic [...]

After the shocking reveal that Warner Bros. had plans to make a movie focused on the classic Batman villain the Joker as played by Jared Leto, many fans asked one pressing question: what about the many, many other projects in the works featuring the Clown Prince of Crime?

Well, don't worry, because at least one is still moving forward as Deadline confirms the Joker origin movie with Joaquin Phoenix is still in development.

The new Joker movie will reportedly be spun out of Suicide Squad, while the origin movie being developed by director Todd Phillips will be an "Elseworlds" style project under a banner separate from DC Films. They would not be connected each other except for featuring different takes on the same character.

Jared Leto has also signed on to executive produce his solo movie for DC Films. It's not clear if Warner Bros. intends to actually make both films or if they're developing both to see which one they'd rather pursue.

This is the latest in a string of new announcements that have dominated the news of Warner Bros.' DC slate. They also announced plans for a Birds of Prey movie with Harley Quinn actor Margot Robbie, to be directed by Cathy Yan.

In fact, many different projects involving Harley Quinn and the Joker have been revealed over the last year. In addition to the impending Suicide Squad 2 with director Gavin O'Connor, a "Mad Love" style movie with Harley and Joker is also in development.

There's been no update on the proposed Gotham City Sirens movie being developed by original Suicide Squad director David Ayer, but he seems to have moved on after the announcement of Bright 2 from Netflix, where he'll re-team with actor Will Smith.

This is in addition to Joker's potential appearance in a Batman solo movie, and the animated Harley Quinn series that will debut on the new streaming platform DC Universe.

There's no guarantee that any of these projects (except the animated series) gets made, as Warner Bros. has a habit of announcing films that go on the back burner. They previously announced Justice League as a two-part film with spinoffs including Cyborg and Green Lantern Corps, without any followup since. At last year's San Diego Comic-Con, they revealed an impressive slate that included projects like Batgirl and Flashpoint, but there's no word yet that either are moving forward after numerous director shakeups.

The only movies we can count on from DC Films at this point are those that are actually in production: Aquaman, Shazam!, and Wonder Woman 2.

Do you have any interest in seeing two different movies about two different Jokers? Be sure to sound off in the comments.

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