It’s looking increasingly likely that the Joker origins movie – not to be confused with Joker and Harley Quinn, or the standalone film earmarked for Jared Leto’s Clown Prince of Crime – will stand on its own two feet, as character descriptions unearthed by That Hashtag Show yesterday pointed to a pretty big departure from the continuity of DC Films.
In fact, we’ve heard in recent weeks that Warner Bros. is looking to make a separate label, and this flick could be the first to fall under the umbrella of what’s said to be called DC Dark or DC Black. Personally, I’m right there with those of you who were backing “Elseworlds,” but “DC Black” would allow for synergy with the DC Black Label, a new initiative soon launching on the comic book side of things that’ll actually include a few stories involving the Clown Prince of Crime.
What else this new label will house is currently unknown, but the latest scoop on Matt Reeves’ The Batman claims that it’ll exist in this universe, too, putting it outside the DCEU and instead placing it alongside the Joker origins film. Or at least, that’s what Mark Hughes said on The Superhero News Show recently.
According to his sources, the Clown Prince we see in Scorsese’s pic will be the same one that the Caped Crusader goes up against in his own solo outing. Given that this remains unconfirmed, we’d advise taking it with a pinch of salt, but it certainly sounds possible. After all, it’s been rumored before that Reeves was looking to set his project outside the DCEU and with this new DC Black, or DC Dark label that’s being developed, it gives him the perfect chance to tell a completely standalone story without being bogged down by the continuity of the existing cinematic universe.
Then again, DCEU rumors are a dime a dozen, especially right now with Comic-Con quickly approaching, so it’s best to be on high alert as we get closer to the convention, which will no doubt shed some much needed light on the studio’s plans for their many, many DC Comics properties – including The Batman and whatever they’ve got going for the Joker.