Is a Joker Origin Movie (Why So) Seriously Necessary?

With the recent casting of Joaquin Phoenix (Gladiator, Her) as infamous comic book villain the Joker, speculation has once again abounded from all corners of the internet and comic fandom. While no stranger to playing the bad guy as with Commodus in Ridley Scott's swords-and-sandals 2000 epic, this role is very different to much of what Phoenix has done before. That can be said with anyone who has taken this part before, to be fair, but it is still a daunting task with the power to make or break a reputation.

While there is little doubt in Phoenix's ability to expertly pull off a role, is the film the role is based in actually necessary?

We have seen major movies and television shows based on comic book properties met with high praise and financial success, and the portrayal of the villain in these mediums is often seen as an important factor for fans and critics alike. With this year's Avengers: Infinity War, we have seen an excellent representation of a memorable and powerful villain in Josh Brolin's Thanos, but that film is still centered around the heroes attempts to prevent his plan coming to fruition. Never before has there been a live-action attempt at a comic book villain solo film, therefore the pressure is definitely on for Phoenix and co.

When considering the Joker in film, the one constant that always appears is, of course, Heath Ledger's iconic portrayal of the crazed clown in Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight.

Widely regarded as one of the best movies ever made, it is Ledger's terrifying performance that is generally agreed to be the shining pinnacle of darkness from that film and also a prime example of how to do a powerful and memorable villain. It also brought a much deeper element to what was considered before release to be just another comic book movie; how he and Batman's "battle for Gotham's soul" as the clown himself puts it, is bound to last for eternity raised interesting moral dilemmas and gave weight to the movie's events. Now ask, could this be done to the same extent with a Joker solo movie? Can such thematic and philosophical weight be included with a movie focused on only the infamous insane circus performer?

Of course, it is not determined that the filmmakers will include the Joker's relationship with Batman in the film, nor do they even have to follow this path to present a good movie. However, that is where the problem lies—the Joker's relationship with Batman defines them both as characters. The dark knight's committed, powerful efforts to maintain order in his city conflicting with this twisted jester seeking only to undermine that order has provided some of the comic book industry with it's most acclaimed stories. To remove any element of that is enough cause for concern with any fan of either character. Now, the caped crusader's inclusion is not necessary for a Joker solo film to succeed, but the fact that it is planned to be an origin story is definitely worth raising a bright green eyebrow over.

The most enduring and interesting factor of the Joker's character is not his infatuation for unpleasant party tricks or his striking head of hair, but in his past—or lack thereof. One thing Nolan very much played with for his Joker was in his hollow history; giving two very different reasons for the scars on his face resembling a permanently ghoulish grin was a clever way to portray how horrifying and manipulative this character was and to play with the audience's perception of him. Even the world's greatest detective himself has admitted to not knowing much of his arch-nemesis' past. To present a character famed for having no backstory with a reason for his absolute insanity now makes for a much less compelling character and limits everything they are capable of. Solo: A Star Wars Story springs to mind: not necessarily a bad movie, but it does make for a now-less compelling Han Solo and contradictions with his character. For a Joker origin movie to succeed, it must not follow the Solo route.

To be fair, DC appear to be aware of their precedent—their team-up movie not unlike The Avengers, Justice League, was met with mixed reception and had a lukewarm performance at the box office. This led to a backtrack for the studio who were now forced to see that their strengths did not lie with their approach that was too similar to Marvel. Doing a smaller-scale character story is something that Marvel has also proven to be deft at (2016's Deadpool and 2017's Logan), though they have yet to prove their talent at a standalone villain movie. DC has an opportunity to prove naysayers wrong, outdo Marvel in a film-making aspect and find their Dark Knight spark—but to successfully produce an origin movie about perhaps the most iconic villain of all time, who is famed for revealing little to no origin at all, is a very difficult goal to achieve. Fans of DC and the Joker can only hope in the performance of Phoenix and a somewhat faithful adaptation of the character in order to have a reason to maintain their now tainted faith in the DC film franchise.