What Is Going on with the DCEU!?!?!?

I'm trying hard not to make too many snap judgments, but it's excruciating. Right now the DCEU is tearing apart at every little molecule right in front of my ears and I'm heartbroken.

I'm going to ease my way into whatever the heck Joaquin Phoenix is supposed to be. First, let's talk about the fact that SO many people are rumored to be leaving and it's stressing me out. Henry Cavill and Ben Affleck both have their fates waddling mid-air, and I'm sure you can imagine how ridiculous that would look.

I know it's just Reddit news and rumor mill, so it shouldn't be taken seriously, but two of the biggest characters in your universe rumored to have their actors in jeopardy is the worst possible position to be in. Alex Trebek is so 2011, just like that awful attempt at a joke.

More than likely, Cavill and Affleck aren't going anywhere, but I think the fact that there have been so many money issues and contract kinks is emblematic. Everything has descended into chaos, ironically just as The Joker would like it to be.

Was Jared Leto sensational? Of course not, but like, he had Heath Ledger and Mark Hamill to follow up. Even if he was good he would have sucked, you know? But when a character doesn't pan out, take that critique and expand into a better character. Don't just scrap everything and start completely over, like come on? Jared Leto has proven to be a highly competent actor in other things, so he's capable of greatness.

But you know, okay, scrap everything. That's all fine and dandy as long it's good, right?

Let's start with the casting. Um. What? Why does he look so old? This may be off-base and is 22983989293% superficial, but I thought this was supposed to be an origin story, and he looks almost ten years older than Leto. Which is strange, because he's actually almost five years younger.

It would make a lot more sense, as far as your cinematic universe goes, to go with a younger joker that follows the same timeline as the five movies you've already built that maybe offers a more clever insight into what made the Joker we saw in Suicide Squad what he was.

Heck, you can completely change the character. It would be much more interesting to see how this dark and genius anarchist spiraled into the more hood-rat version we saw in Suicide Squad. And then you can be creative and make Leto's joker from Suicide Squad go through the character growth needed to return to his glory. That would be interesting. And it wouldn't have screwed up the timeline.

But now we have... a... communist? Is that right? That's what I read somewhere, and I don't know if that's canon to the originals or not, but that just sounds funky. Communism isn't even trending anymore. And that makes the Joker sound more political than the anarchist he's meant to be.

That being said, I think it's totally okay to give completely different takes on characters, it keeps things interesting, and creatives deserve creative liberty to make what they want to make. As long as it's good.

Now let's get into the make-up. My Buddha, the make-up. Arguably the thing that made Ledger as iconic as he was and Leto as reviled as he was, came down to the make-up. Joaquin Phoenix looks like he's cosplaying as John Wayne Gacy. No like... actually.

Like... they didn't like when we made him a gangbanger...hey shucks let's make him a pedophilic serial killer. Which I mean...credit where it's due... they did a great job at making him look like a pedophilic serial killer.

And so yes, the creative team should have the freedom to turn the Joker into whatever they want, and I support that, but it's not that he doesn't look like the Joker, it's just he doesn't look good. He looks like a silly rabbit trying to be a dark rabbit or something, I don't even know.

I just don't understand what DC is doing anymore. They can't keep the actors 100% locked in on their films. They can't decide what they want the tone to be with their movies nor their characters. And now they're starting to screw up the one good thing they did have: television. Confused because you love Arrow and The Flash? Look at that Titans trailer and play the "try not to scream challenge."

The issue is just that everything is so rushed and indecisive. It would be one thing if they just had movies fly out at the speed of sound, but they keep changing everything, and it muddies up everything they're trying to make.

But I still don't know much but the few stills. Maybe the look is slightly ridiculous, but the performance will make it powerful. Prove me wrong Joaquin.