The Next ‘The Batman’ Spin-Off May Be A Joker Series, Says New Report
While there are new rumblings that The Penguin is so successful for WB and HBO that a second season for the supposed miniseries may not be entirely out of the question , now we may have a look at the next spin-off series focused on a different, even more high profile villain.
On Devin Faraci's Marvelvision podcast , he had some DC news. That would be that Barry Keoghan, teased as The Batman's in-universe Joker in the first movie, would get his own series that would serve as a bridge between the second and third movies, the way The Penguin is connecting the first two. The idea is that Keoghan's Joker would be built up a little bit in The Batman Part 2, similar to how Oz was, then spin-off into this show.
This seems like the kind of thing that James Gunn could shoot down any second, as he tends to do that with higher profile rumors, but if he says nothing, that could be its own sort of confirmation. This would align with previous reports that WB wanted shows that featured more "marquee" characters which proposed series like an Arkham and Gotham PD show did not have. Though we also now live in a world where Sofia Falcone might be the best character in the DC universe so...let them cook, as they say.
Joker is about as high profile as you get, and Barry Keoghan is one of the most in-demand actors in Hollywood right now. His first superhero outing was in the unfortunately maligned Eternals, but he was in The Banshees of Inisherin, Saltburn and Masters of the Air all within the last year or so. He's set to star in the upcoming Peaky Blinders film. Ridley Scott recently lamented that he was unavailable to play a villain in Gladiator 2 due to his commitment to Saltburn.
We have no real idea what this rendition of Joker would be like, we only saw that his face and teeth were even more mangled than past version. There is some sentiment that "ugh, we're doing Joker again," but it has been eight years since Jared Leto's side-role as a tattooed Joker in Suicide Squad, and 16 years since Heath Ledger's portrayal. It seems like another Joker at this point may be okay. His appearance here, however, may indicate the DCU might not do its own version any time soon after it introduces its own Batman. The Brave and The Bold has had a few iterations over the years, but featured a wide range of villains besides Joker.
If there is not going to be a Penguin season 2, I would absolutely advocate for a Joker series being given to Penguin showrunner Lauren LeFranc, who is the main reason that series is so good. Give her Barry Keoghan and a famous villain and I have every confidence she could make something incredible.
I will update this if James Gunn or Matt Reeves decide to shoot this out of the sky.
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