WARNING: The following contains spoilers for The Batman, now in theaters.
The Batman has been one of the most successful DC movies in a while, both critically and financially. In telling a story with its own version of the Dark Knight, it creates yet another cinematic universe for DC and Warner Bros. to explore in the future. Of course, where Batman is, The Joker usually isn't far behind, and that's the case with Matt Reeves' new film, too.
By introducing another take on the Clown Prince of Crime, The Batman brings the current total of recent cinematic Jokers up to three. Though this might seem repetitive, it actually creates an interesting opportunity. DC could take advantage of these multiple castings and adapt the recent comic book storyline Batman: Three Jokers. Here's what Geoff Johns and Jason Fabok's story was about, and how it could be brought to life on the big screen.
What Was DC's Three Jokers About?
Released in 2020, Batman: Three Jokers was a DC Black Label title that spun out of events in Johns' Darkseid War and DC Rebirth, the story details Batman's investigations into seemingly contradictory crimes committed by The Joker. In looking further, Batman discovers that The Joker may have, in fact, always been three different people, all of whom are homages to the various interpretations of The Joker throughout the character's publication history.
These incarnations include The Criminal, The Clown and The Comedian, who conspire to recreate their iconic origin story from The Killing Joke and create a fourth Joker. In fighting to take them down, the Batman Family realizes how important, for better or worse, The Joker has been in Batman's crime-fighting career. All the while, Batman comes to grips further with Joe Chill, his parents' killer, as the former crook lies on his deathbed from cancer.
How the DCEU Could Adapt Three Jokers
There have been three different cinematic Jokers in the last few years: the DC Extended Universe Joker played by Jared Leto, the version from Joker played by Joaquin Phoenix and, now, the version from The Batman portrayed by Barry Keoghan. One could argue that these versions embody the different traits of the clowns seen in Three Jokers, making it even more imperative that Warner Bros. take advantage of this unique situation.
A Three Jokers movie could be set in the DCEU, but an even better idea would be for it to simply be a sort of standalone Elseworlds movie, like Joker itself was. This way, the actors could all reprise their roles while maintaining the integrity of their respective universes. This would be perfect given that a Joker sequel is still somewhat unlikely (and unnecessary), and Leto's Joker still needs redemption after 2016's Suicide Squad. In having a standalone feature, DC and Warner Bros. would also prove again that a story doesn't need to take place in an extensive, shared cinematic universe to be a great and crowd-pleasing film. Instead, the movie could stand on its own while drawing on the nostalgia of past Batman movies.
To highlight this further, the rest of the cast could also be all mixed up. For instance, to further showcase how this is its own universe, Batman could be played by Ben Affleck, while Gary Oldman could reprise his role as James Gordon. Likewise, if Barbara Gordon is in the movie like she was in the book, she could be played by Savannah Welch, who portrays the character on the TV show Titans. This amalgam universe would essentially "get audiences up to speed" and make way for a great movie, one which would act as a sort of Spider-Man: No Way Home for Batman's greatest enemy.
To see the latest cinematic Joker, The Batman is currently playing in theaters.