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New DC Joker Movie in the Works - What Critics Are Saying

by | August 23, 2017 | Comments

(Photo by Warner Bros.)

Another movie based on a DC Comics property was announced this week, and it caught a lot of people by surprise: Batman villain the Joker will be the focus of an origin story set in the early 1980s. Martin Scorsese is producing, Todd Phillips is directing, and a new actor will portray the young evildoer.

Throughout the history of DC Comics adaptations, the Joker has been a favorite element, not just in Batman movies, including The Dark Knight and the animated Batman: The Killing Joke, but also the bad-guy bonanza Suicide Squad. And critics tend to agree with the fans for the most part.

Average Tomatometer score for Batman-based movies featuring the Joker: 78.2%

Average Tomatometer score for Batman-based movies without the Joker: 69.1%

 

Yet there were uniformly negative reactions to the news of the new Joker movie, which probably won’t feature Batman. Here’s what the critics are saying:

Of all the characters who should NOT have an origin story, like, EVER.
Helen O’Hara, Empire

I can not wait for the Joker origin, because everyone’s childhood is so f—ing interesting.
Mike Ryan, Uproxx

The best way to combat hate is by drowning it out. So let’s all get out there and make movies that AREN’T Joker origin stories.
Eric D. Snider, EricDSnider.com

I hope the Joker movie is so gritty that it feels like having 400 pounds of gravel shot into my eyes with a firehose.
Scott Wampler, Birth.Movies.Death

Honestly? It feels extremely ill-advised, at least while the current iteration of the DCEU is going…it makes little sense and could lead to a lot of confusion among non-hardcore fans.
Rodrigo Perez, The Playlist

They need to give the Joker a rest..just like Green Goblin over in the Spider-verse.
Edward Douglas, The Tracking Board

Is Todd Phillips perfect for this or terrible for this, I can’t tell I don’t know anything anymore.
Alison Willmore, Buzzfeed

That ‘Joker origin movie produced by Martin Scorsese’ story feels like the end of all things.
Scott Mendelson, Forbes

I’m a busy man, so I’m just going to get my gigantic eye roll out of the way now for when “Sympathy for the Devil” plays in the Joker movie.
Matt Goldberg, Collider

How about we just call SHUTTER ISLAND Scorsese’s Joker movie instead?
Sam Adams, Slate