The current blockbuster climate is obsessed with interconnected universes. It all started with Marvel Studios, which launchedIron Man,Thor, andCaptain Americaas individual movies that all took place in the same universe, so that each film was both separateanda sort of sequel/prequel to all the other Marvel Studios films. This culminated inThe Avengers, which scored the largest box office opening of all time (at that time) and featured all of these disparate heroes together in one movie. Wash, rinse, repeat—Marvel has enjoyed wild success after wild success ever since, and now all the other studios are looking to this model as the new way forward. Instead of worrying about franchise fatigue, you make a bunch ofdifferentfranchises that are all part of the same overarching franchise.
We’ve seen numerous copycats over the years, with other studios trying (and mostly failing) to catch up. Most notable is Warner Bros., which owns the DC Comics properties and, after looking at Marvel’s success, tried to shortcut its way to its ownAvengers. Instead of following 2013’sMan of Steelwith another Superman movie or a new Flash movie that introduced new characters or deepened established ones, that film’s “sequel” wasBatman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, which brought three major heroes—Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman—together in one movie. It was jolting to say the least, and would be akin to Marvel makingCaptain America: Civil Warright after the firstIron Man.
Warner Bros. followedBatman v SupermanwithSuicide Squad, a seemingly more disconnected film from this DC Extended Universe, but one which suffered from some major post-production tinkering and involves a pretty awkwardly placed Batman cameo. Again, by pushing “fast forward” on this DCEU and trying to rush to the same kind of success that Marvel enjoyed withThe Avengersbut in half the time, Warner Bros. was basically serving a half-cooked meal—audiences didn’t know what the DCEU was yet, let alone if they wanted to eat it.
But things are looking up for Warner Bros. and the DCEU. They enjoyed their first unqualified success with this summer’sWonder Woman, which not only received critical acclaim but also is an unstoppable force at the box office, andJoss Whedonis overseeing some extensive reshoots onJustice Leaguethat will reportedlycourse-correct that film a bitfrom itsBvS-inspired tone to something more in line withWonder Woman. And now, as recently revealed, Warner Bros. is developing a brand new branch of DC Comics adaptations—one that will finally set it apart from the rest of the superhero movies and universes out there.
The studio isreportedly developing a Joker origin story moviewith filmmakerTodd Phillips(War Dogs,The Hangovertrilogy) co-writing and directing andMartin Scorsesein talks to be involved in some level of a producing capacity. The kicker here is that this Joker origin story willnotbe part of the DCEU. Instead, it’s part of an unannounced arm at Warner Bros. that intends to develop one-off comics adaptations that don’t have to worry about continuity with the DCEU. This Joker movie, for instance, is being conceived as an 80s-set hard boiled crime thriller, in the vein ofTaxi Driver.
Andthisis going to be the key to making Warner Bros. stand out in the superhero-saturated landscape. The studio clearly has had a tough time settling on a tone for its DCEU, but also prides itself on giving its filmmakers room to make these movies their own. All the Marvel Studios films have an established aesthetic that directors have to stick to, but the DCEU seems to be giving directors likeDavid AyerandPatty Jenkinsthe freedom to play around with what a DC superhero movie has to look like. But as we saw withSuicide Squad, even if your film is visually different from what came before, the story still has to make sense within the “cinematic universe” rules and there needs to be some sort of connection to the DCEU overall (hence theBen Affleckcameo).Wonder Womanis an outlier because it was a period piece and thus preceded the DCEU that we know so far, but it was bookended by scenes of Diana Prince reading a note from Affleck’s Bruce Wayne.
But by creating comic book adaptations that don’t have to conform either visually or story-wise, Warner Bros. can put their money where their mouth is—directors can havetotalfreedom to do whatever they want within the confines of their one-off movies. Whatever you think about the concept of a Joker origin story movie, it’s exciting to think that Phillips can basically rewrite the entire history of this character in this film, cast an entirely new actor, and include as many or as few other comics characters as he wants in this movie. He doesn’t have to worry about how this will affect future films or whether it makes sense within the established timeline—he has a blank canvas.
This is somewhat similar to 20th Century Fox’sLogan, which eschewed some of the establishedX-Mentimeline in favor of telling a good story. And indeed, some of these franchises have gotten so bogged down in the details of connectivity or hedging their bets for future films that they’ve become toothless. They’re entertaining enough, but where’s the ambition? By creating a brand new banner at Warner Bros. that basically allows for filmmakers to play in a huge sandbox and then get out, the studio can attract top-level talent (although it’s worth noting thatJordan Vogt-Robertspitched a similar idea to Warner Bros.for his take on aRed Sonmovie).
In a way, this is almost like the movie industry taking a cue from the TV industry, which itself took a cue from the movie industry. It used to be that TV was relegated to B-level talent—A-list stars and filmmakers weren’t going to tie up their schedules for the foreseeable future to make years and years of television. But the “limited series” idea with shows likeTrue DetectiveandFargoallows major performers and filmmakers to come to TV, make one close-ended season, and be done with it. Given that blockbusters have become so franchise-heavy, forcing actors and actresses to sign four, five, and six-picture contracts, some performers have been wary of signing away so much time. But this one-off DC idea allows for a major actor or actress to come in, take a huge swing with an ambitious and unique twist on a comics character, and not have to worry about showing up for years to come in various sequels and other DCEU movies.
Will this Joker origin story be a good movie? Will it even actually happen? I have no idea. Maybe not. But the mere fact that Warner Bros. is deciding to branch out and create one-off stories is exciting, regardless of the specific property or character, and could finally be the key to setting Warner Bros./DC apart from Marvel as something entirely different yet equally worthwhile.
