James Gunn’s cryptic message on social media has fans believing the DC Studios co-CEO is teasing the new version of Joker in the DC Universe.

SUMMARY

•  James Gunn honors Conrad Veidt’s portrayal of the character in “The Man Who Laughs,” a major inspiration for the Joker in the comics.
•  Fans are now speculating that Gunn’s social media activity may be teasing the direction of the Joker in the new DC Universe, possibly setting up The Batman Who Laughs.
•  The DC Universe needs a new Joker as much as a new Batman, and establishing the iconic villain is crucial for the success of DC Studios’ interconnected franchise.

As James Gunn honors a major inspiration for the Joker, DC fans are speculating that they are getting their first tease of how the DC Universe will tackle the iconic Batman villain. With the DCEU concluding in 2023, the new DC Universe is on its way from Gunn and Peter Safran, as part of DC Studios’ fresh initiative to build an interconnected franchise. Several heroes already have solo projects in the works as part of Chapter 1, “Gods and Monsters,” which still has more films and movies that haven’t been announced yet.

While Superman: Legacy will be the first film for Chapter 1, a new Batman reboot is in the works as they will tackle Bruce Wayne’s mythology once again for the upcoming franchise. Even though it will be quite a while before the film happens, fans are keeping close eye to Gunn’s activity on social media, where he has shared various teases for his new DC Universe.

The iconic movie The Man Who Laughs served as a massive inspiration for what the Joker would look like in the comics when he made his fictional debut. Gunn took to Twitter to celebrate Conrad Veidt’s portrayal of the character whose appearance helped the Clown Prince of Crime’s foundation.

It didn’t take long before fans began speculating that Gunn is teasing the direction for Joker in the new DC Universe. @One_WhoLaughs theorized this is setting up The Batman Who Laughs from the Dark Multiverse.

@Hotrod_Herman_138 shared a similar sentiment, commenting on Gunn’s Instagram post about how The Batman Who Laughs “makes way more sense now.”

@OffiicalZanePal directly asked if they are “getting a new Joker” in the DC Universe, based on Gunn’s The Man Who Laughs post.

@Maxxfigurr brought up one of the most popular fan castings for Joker, proposing that Willem Dafoe should play Joker in the DC Universe.

@Elepe10001 asked if Gunn is taking inspiration “from the very core of the character” for how DC Studios will approach Joker whenever he does show up in the new universe.

@Klein_Visuals commented how the DC Universe “definitely need a classic Joker,” in light of Gunn’s post talking about the villain’s source of inspiration.

@LukeODoherty6 asked if Gunn’s post might mean that they will get to see a comic-accurate Joker in DC Studios’ coming reboot.

@Smaacckk chimed in on Gunn’s cryptic post, wondering if the filmmaker is possibly scheming something related to the character.

With Andy Mushcetti set to direct Batman: The Brave and The Bold, @PalebludSky hopes that they will use The Man Who Laughs from a visual perspective if they have Joker in this new interpretation.

@TrueOnThe speculated that this will not only be what Joker looks like in the DC Universe but that Gunn is teasing that he will actually be in Batman: The Brave and The Bold.

The DCU Needs A New Joker As Much As A New Batman

Whether or not a new Joker is actually in Batman: The Brave and The Bold remains to be seen, as there isn’t even a script in place for the reboot, but there is no question that the DCU needs one. And the fan reactions suggesting a pure adaptation of the Joker’s inspiration would be a fresh approach for Joker are extremely valid. The Batman universe will likely do more with Barry Keoghan’s version of the character at the same time as Joaquin Phoenix’s Elseworlds franchise is still running. Because of those projects, the DC Universe will have to approach Joker very differently.

Even if Joker isn’t the first antagonist that Batman deals with whenever fans see the Caped Crusader back on the big screen, the DC Universe will need to have the iconic villain in place at some point. Of all the Batman foes, Joker is a defining aspect of Bruce Wayne’s life as a crime fighter, both in the comics and in almost every media adaptation of the DC icon. With the DC Universe aspiring to be as successful as the Marvel Cinematic Universe, DC Studios are going to have to establish Joker as they get their new Batman in place.

Whenever the ongoing Writers Guild of America and SAG-AFTRA strikes are over, DC Studios will hopefully be able to elaborate more on how they are executing Batman in the DC Universe, including his own solo films. Given how far Gunn and Safran have mapped out the new DC Universe, it wouldn’t be shocking if Joker is already part of those plans. But for now, fans will have to wait and see what Gunn and his team will do with Joker in the DC Universe.