The Flash looks to be dramatically changing the DCEU history, and it should take advantage of this soft relaunch to give the franchise a new Joker. The DCEU’s Joker, played by Jared Leto, made his debut in 2016’s Suicide Squad and was widely regarded as a lackluster interpretation of one of DC Comics’ most terrifying villains. According to set photographs and announcements from the upcoming Batgirl, Michael Keaton will replace Ben Affleck as Batman in the DCEU’s post-The Flash chronology, but the new DCEU should also introduce a new version of his biggest adversary.
The Flash will be the Scarlet Speedster’s first solo adventure, with Ezra Miller and Ben Affleck reprising their roles as Barry Allen and Bruce Wayne, respectively. The film will feature both Barry Allen’s time-traveling powers and the DC universe. As a result of these talents, The Flash will go to Earth-89, where Michael Keaton will reprise his role as the continuity’s Batman for the first time in 30 years.
The Flash will feature Ben Affleck’s final performance as Batman, with Keaton returning his role as the Dark Knight in Batgirl, albeit maybe not as the same Batman seen in Burton’s films. Meanwhile, despite a more scary and comic-accurate appearance in Zack Snyder’s Justice League, many fans see the DCEU’s Joker as one of the continuity’s most disappointing characters. Following The Flash’s timeline changes, the DCEU should either drastically modify Jared Leto’s portrayal of The Joker, recast one of The Joker’s prior actors, or just cast a new one as the Clown Prince of Crime.
Jared Leto’s portrayal of The Joker in Suicide Squad has been chastised for missing the danger and nuance that the character demands, and for being a poor imitation of Heath Ledger’s Joker from The Dark Knight. Despite this, Leto’s brief appearance in Justice League was well appreciated by audiences. With a timeline shift following The Flash, the DCEU may recast Leto’s Joker without recasting him, altering the character’s history and image while also giving Leto a second shot.
With Keaton as the DCEU’s new Batman, another possibility would be to bring back Jack Nicholson as The Joker, giving him a slightly similar backstory and practically the same performing style, allowing him to fight with Batman once more. Following on from his 2019 standalone feature, Joaquin Phoenix might become the DCEU’s next Joker. However, given the film’s solo nature and the implications for Keaton’s Batman, this alternative seemed doubtful.
The DCEU chronology reboot also provides a chance to cast a brand different actor in the role of the Joker. While Jared Leto may be amenable to resuming the role, the DCEU may choose to cast someone else as Batman’s archenemy. While Michael Keaton will be the DCEU’s Batman following the timeline reboot of The Flash, he appears to be a different version of the character, thus a new version of The Joker would be suitable.
