He is easily the most psychotic and arguably the most popular villain of any comic book series in history.
Then, in 1989, when Tim Burton took on the task for bringing the Caped Crusader to life, only a handful of critics doubted what his neurotic vision could do for Batman. Everyone seemed to doubt what he could do with the Joker.
Until, he hired Jack Nicholson. Then, everyone suffered in comparison. Jack even eclipsed the great Cesar Romero. And Mark Hamill, though superbly genius at voice-over acting, wasn’t live on camera (although almost every fan wishes he was).
Then came Heath Ledger. Forget it. We’re done. We have our Joker into perpetuity. Yet, DC and Warner Bros. need to familiarize themselves with “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” If you have lost count, we have the following fix-it projects all involving the Clown Prince of Crime. (Spoiler Alert: There’s TOO MANY!)
- Various VOs for animated (e.g., Jeff Bennett, John DiMaggio, Kevin Michael Richardson, Anthony Ingruber, Troy Baker, Michael Emerson)
- Cameron Riley Monaghan, Gotham
- Zack Galifianakis, Lego Batman
- Jared Leto, Suicide Squad & Upcoming “standalone” film (not an “origin”)
- Joaquin Phoenix, Pending Todd Phillips’ project (this one is an “origin”)
What in the actual hell is going on over there?! Have those movie executive types ever heard about overstaying your welcome? (Hipsters with man-buns, we are so looking at you!)
Very few people liked Leto as Joker (even though he was hardly given any time to show what he could do). And right when it seems they were waxing their best ‘Texas Hold-em’ poker stance and going all-in on Joker, someone calls up Todd Phillips and mentions that the world needs yet another Joker.
And this one could give two turds what you think about him being the Joker.
So, there’s that. Thank you, IGN.
While we have been kept in the dark over the Leto executive produced version of himself on film, Phillips has allowed us glimpses into what he’s thinking in the fashion of The Killing Joke: DeNiro, Beetz, Maron, and now, Alec Baldwin. And to think, Baldwin’s role of Thomas Wayne could have been Viggo Mortensen. (Aragorn as Batdad?!)
All that activity begs the question: Why all of these Joker films anyway?!
Are we missing a warehouse full of instructional videos on how to get yourself committed into a home? Was Leto so inept at a broke pimp version of Joker that we had to go out and recruit another?
It’s like living with that one person — be it a child or a significant other — that goes into the fridge to get a beverage when there is still that other one sitting on the coffee table getting warm, which was followed by the half-empty one already in the fridge (behind the milk) because ‘it will be saved for later.’
Open too many of those things, you just got a bunch of half-baked beverages and no one is completing a thing. We have to wait until October 2019 to see the culmination of Phillips’ vision. No word yet on when Leto plans to bring us his. And who knows what else is planned for all these animated jokers.
Following the same metaphor, all these versions will do nothing but get room temperature, become ignored, collect dust, and eventually chucked in the trash with the rest of the leftovers. You can have too much of a good thing.
And when that happens, it’s no longer good. It’s just, well, a thing. Ah, don’t you miss when we just didn’t know Jack?! (DC? That was one for you.)
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