Credit: Joker
The world of the DCEU has changed dramatically. Unless you’ve been living under a rock, news has come out that James Gunn and Peter Safran will lead DC films as co-CEOs. There have been rumors that Gunn was working on something big with Warner Brothers Discovery; however, no one expected it to turn out that Gunn would be spearheading the future of DC. Does this mean that DC will finally get its films straight? Only the future will tell, but Gunn and Safran are in a Kevin Feige-like position, so clearly the plan is to rebuild a world that’s been all over the place for the last couple of years.
That brings us to Todd Phillips’s upcoming sequel to his smash hit, Joker. It’s already been confirmed that Lady Gaga – who will play Harley Quinn in the feature – and Joaquin Phoenix will lead the charge of Joker: Folie à Deux, but how does this clash with the rest of the DC universe? In The Batman, it was strongly teased Barry Keoghan would be the new Joker, and the situation with Margot Robbie and Harley Quinn is still left in the air, even though there aren’t any projects scheduled for the Oscar nominee in terms of the popular DC villain. Still, the timeline gets a bit murky with multiple Jokers or Harley Quinn in the mix, but apparently, Phoenix and Gaga’s version has nothing to do with the DC universe entirely. The news isn’t a huge shock as Phillips has made it clear in the past that his Joker films have nothing to do with the DC universe:
Credit: Joker
“It’s not really to that [DC Movie] Universe. And it was really intentionally not. I mean the original idea when I went to [Warner Bros.] with the idea was not just about one movie, but about a label – sort of a side label to DC, where you can do these kind of character study, low-rent, low-budget movies, where you get a filmmaker to come in and do some deep dive into a character. So it was never meant to connect, so I don’t see it connecting to anything in the future. I think this is just this movie, you know?” the filmmaker stated during a press conference at TIFF 2019.
What does this mean for the rest of the DC universe? At the moment, an exact plan hasn’t been revealed just yet. There have been numerous reports that The Batman, The Flash, or even Black Adam would be the beginning of the new DC universe, and though there are a ton of spin-offs at work from The Batman universe, nothing has been set in stone just yet. Hell, Warners Bros. Discovery hasn’t even greenlit The Batman 2, which likely gives you a strong indication of how much they value the Matt Reeves film at the moment. The Batman was a success, but it didn’t reach the billion-dollar mark. There’s no exact reason why, but part of it is due to the fact that its theatrical run was cut short to serve HBO Max. It would be shocking if a sequel is never made, but it’s clear that the Robert Pattinson vehicle isn’t exactly an important film to Warner Bros. Discovery as of right now.
Credit: Joker
The future of the DC universe is certainly in interesting hands. Gunn is easily the reason Guardians of the Galaxy became such a cultural phenomenon. Though The Suicide Squad failed financially, it did redeem the property after David Ayer’s critical misfire. Though, Peacemaker arguably made The Suicide Squad a hot commodity again. However, Gunn being one of the crucial aspects to lead the charge of an entire universe is a different beast. Hopefully, under Gunn and Safran’s leadership, the DC universe will finally have a clear and strong direction.
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