Warner Bros. is definitely coming down with a serious case of Joker fever. The character was already renowned as a money-spinner, but the barnstorming critical and commercial success of the 2019 solo film for Mr. J has lit a fire under the company.
For instance, we’re hearing that they want to expand Joker into a Jokerverse, that they want to introduce a rival Joker for Joaquin Phoenix’s Arthur Fleck to take on, that they want to find a Clown Prince of Crime to face off against Robert Pattinson in The Batman sequels and now, they’re apparently making plans for a female Joker to appear in the DCEU. And word is that they have their eye on The Dark Knight‘s Maggie Gyllenhaal for the role. At least, that’s according to sources close to WGTC, the same ones who told us a Green Lantern show was coming to HBO Max and The CW was developing an Arrow spinoff for Katherine McNamara, both of which turned out to be correct.
Personally, I’ve always thought Gyllenhaal was a great actor, so if this did happen, then I’d be over the moon if they cast her. However, a female Joker might initially seem like a bad idea. After all, we already have Harley Quinn. Then again, comic book fans will know that the Flashpoint event introduced a female Joker with an unexpected twist: she’s Martha Wayne. In Flashpoint’s twisted alternate reality it was Bruce Wayne that was shot by Joe Chill, traumatizing Thomas and Martha.
Thomas tracks down and beats Joe to death, setting himself on a path to becoming a much darker version of Batman. Meanwhile, Martha is left catatonic and is institutionalized. Thomas tries to comfort her, saying that he misses her smile. As you might say, that’s a “very poor choice of words.” I won’t spoil how the story ends, but let’s just say that this Batman and the Joker don’t walk off into the sunset together.
This twisted alternate version of the Waynes is my favorite thing about Flashpoint, and I really hope Warner Bros. put them in the upcoming Flash movie, which will loosely adapt Flashpoint. If they do, maybe they’ll even stick with Jeffrey Dean Morgan as Thomas Wayne, who’s stated the following in the past:
“I’m highly aware of the character, and it would probably be a thrill of a lifetime to put on the Batsuit.”
So, fingers crossed this eventually pans out and we get to see Flashpoint on screen, complete with a female Joker.
