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Credit: DC Comics
With the DC Universe just starting out, there are soon going to be many iconic roles up for grabs for the most talented performs in Hollywood, and an obviously important one is The Joker. We just saw Joaquin Phoenix play the part twice in recent years, and Barry Keoghan is taking on that special challenge in Matt Reeves’ The Batman movies with Robert Pattinson, but the Batman side of the DCU is practically an open field (the big exception being Clayface). One imagines every actor in the industry is going to be angling for the opportunity… but what about Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3/Peacemaker’s Chukwudi Iwuji?
The Nigerian-British actor has both cred in the world of superhero fiction and a close relationship with DC Studios co-CEO James Gunn, and he has thrown his hat into the ring to play The Joker in an interview with The Movie Dweeb. The subject comes up in the chat after Iwuji denies having any conversations about playing Brainiac in the upcoming Superman sequel Man Of Tomorrow, and he notes that he already has a very clear idea of how he would play the part. Said the actor,
There has to be something maniacal about the Joker, right? But ‘maniacal’ has such a huge range. The parts of Heath Ledger’s Joker that moved me most was when you realize that he keeps making up a story about his father each time. And when I asked myself, ‘Well, why would you do that?’ Again, that loneliness and that he’s covering up with this flamboyant thing, but he keeps making up a story about his father.
(Without trying to step on his point, I feel I should mote that only one of the stories told by Heath Ledger’s Joker about his scars involves his father, as his second “origin” is about a gambling-addicted wife he may or may not have had – but it’s really the changing of the story that’s most important to what the actor is saying).
But it’s not just that complex kind of backstory as presented in The Dark Knight that appeals to the actor, as he also recalls being taken aback just watching the stair dancing scene in the trailer for Todd Phillips’ Joker and recognizing that Joaquin Phoenix was working with a filmmaker excited to let the actor be free.
We’ve seen Chukwudi Iwuji play with an out-of-control ego playing the High Evolutionary in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, but he has a wholly different vision for the Clown Prince of Crime: inside the character would be a lot of pain and sadness, and his inability to see beyond it would put everyone around him in danger:
I would look to, borrowing a word from James Gunn, really ground him. I think it comes from a guy that feels the need to make up a story about his father and that there’s a guy that wishes he could be dancing on the steps with water and not give a shit, but he has this mantle of being the Joker to play. So there’ll be a deep sadness in him. I just feel there’s so much richness about sadness with the Joker. And when you’re so laser-focused on your inner turmoil, the things you could do to other people without even it counting is very scary.
Clearly the answer to the question of “would he?” is “yes.” But that just leaves us with the question of “could he?” – which is raised because of his memorable turn as Clemson Murn in Peacemaker Season 1. One might think that would be a conflict, but we’ve already seen actors play multiple roles in the DCU (including Sean Gunn and Michael Rooker), and there has already been some cherry picking in regard to what counts as canon from the first run of episodes and what doesn’t. I don’t get the sense that he would be disqualified from any conversation.
For now, the future for both the Joker and most things Batman-related in the DCU remains a mystery – though we do know that beyond the Clayface movie that has been dated for next year, there is also a The Brave And The Bold blockbuster that is set to be directed by Andy Muschietti. It should go without saying that when there is news to report in this arena of upcoming DC movie developments, you’ll be able to find the info here on CinemaBlend.
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