The Joker is such a hot item in the DC Universe that in the last year alone we’ve gotten new versions of the Clown Prince of Crime on TV (Gotham), and in the comics (Dark Nights: Metal), as well as the announcement of at least two new Joker film projects. With Joker blowing up all over the place it’s easy to lose track of what’s what – which is why Geoff Johns had to set the record straight when we spoke to him at San Diego Comic-Con 2018!
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As you can see in the video above, Geoff Johns shoots down theories that his upcoming DC “prestige-format” miniseries The Three Jokers is in any way connected to Todd Phillips’ Joker origin movie. As Johns explains:
“Three Jokers… that story idea J. [Jason Fabok] and I had when we were on ‘Justice League’ quite a few years ago now. So they’re totally separate. I guess they both deal with the origins of The Joker in a way – but really, ‘Three Jokers’ is more about the pain and scars, and healing right and healing wrong that The Joker’s done to Bruce and his family. So it’s more about the origin of the pain Joker has inflicted, and why – though there is some Joker origin stuff in our book too, I have to admit, so there’s a little crossover I guess.“
As for what we’re going to get from Joaquin Phoenix in Todd Phillips’ Joker origin movie? Johns was coy about any reveal, stating, “I don’t want to spoil anything about what Todd has planned.”
The Three Jokers aims to resolve a big mystery hanging over the DC Universe for years now: Batman’s discovery that there are actually three different Jokers living in the DC Universe. So far, there are hints that one Joker will be the flamboyant maniac that killed Jason Todd in “Death in the Family”; one will be the frightening sociopath anarchist from The Killing Joke; and the third possibly being a Joker from one of the more recent DC Comics versions of the character (like Scott Snyder’s Joker). Johns revealed more of what he and artist Jason Fabok have planned for the book during SDCC2018 – check that out HERE.
As for the Joker origin movie? The film is now headed into production with Joaquin Phoenix in the lead; the cast is quickly pulling in big talent, including Robert De Niro and Frances Conroy. It will simply be titled Joker and seems to be drawing from iconic inspiration like the Killing Joke backstory of The Joker as a struggling comedian who falls in with some gangsters, resulting in the tragic accident that transforms him into a deranged monster. Rumors suggest the gangster in question could be Batman villain Rupert Thorne, while Deadpool 2‘s Zazie Beetz may be playing a single mother who is hard on her luck, trying to make it in the city.
Joker is set to hit theaters on October 4, 2019; The Three Jokers is aiming to release its first issue this fall.
