The Joker must be one of the most delicious characters to play in live-action cinema. Gotham’s clown prince of crime is the bane of Batman’s existence, and his most iconic foe. Heath Ledger redefined being the agent of chaos in Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight, winning a posthumous Oscar. Then Joaquin Phoenix brought another side of the character to celluloid with his Oscar-winning performance in 2019’s Joker. So, now fans are eagerly awaiting to see who will play the Joker in James Gunn’s DCU, and there’s one MCU villain who’d like to give it a try.
Gunn’s frequent collaborator, Chukwudi Iwuji, who played a cold and mean High Evolutionary in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, recently spoke to The Movie Dweeb about his desire to play the iconic character in Gunn’s DCU. “There has to be something maniacal about the Joker, right? But ‘maniacal’ has such a huge range,” the actor shared the insight about how he’d approach the character. He noted Ledger’s performance and revealed that what “moved me most was when you realize that he keeps making up a story about his father each time.” He continued:
“And when I asked myself, ‘Well, why would you do that?’ Again, that loneliness and that he’s covering up with this flamboyant thing, but he keeps making up a story about his father.”
He further noted that he’d like to “ground” the character. Adding, “I just feel there’s so much richness about sadness with the Joker. And when you’re so laser-focused on your inner turmoil, the things you could do to other people without even it counting is very scary.” Iwuji certainly has what it takes to deliver a good villain; his performance in GoTG Vol 3 made many people very angry in the context of the movie, and the heroes’ win feels more special thanks to the formidable villain that High Evolutionary was. However, what happens in Gunn’s DC Universe remains to be seen.
DCU’s Elseworlds Joker Awaits
Speaking of Joker, fans are yet to see Barry Keoghan’s portrayal in Matt Reeves’ The Batman franchise. Reeves’ movie falls under Elseworld stories in the DCU and is darker and grittier in nature. Keoghan was introduced as Joker to fans in a deleted scene, sharing screen space with Paul Dano’s Riddler in Arkham Asylum. Since then, fans have been eager to see his version of the character. Whether The Batman II features more of him or not remains to be seen.
Meanwhile, you can check out Ledger and Phoenix’s respective performances in The Dark Knight and Joker on HBO Max. Check out Iwuji’s comments above and stay tuned to Collider for more such updates.
Release Date
May 3, 2023
Runtime
150 minutes
Director
James Gunn
Producers
Kevin Feige, Louis D’Esposito, Nik Korda, Victoria Alonso, Simon Hatt