James Gunn Shuts Down Rumours of Joker TV Series

by Karen Benardello
James Gunn Shuts Down Rumours of Joker TV Series

©Courtesy of Warner Brothers

Matt Reeves is reportedly developing a Joker television show that is expected to lead into a potential third The Batman film. The news of the series, which will be similar in structure to HBO’s The Penguin show, was initially revealed on the Marvelvision podcast.

Former critic Devin Faraci shared that Warner Bros. Discovery is looking to move ahead with plans for a series focused on the Joker from The Batman. The character was played by Oscar nominee Barry Keoghan in the hit 2022 movie.

In a separate report, Jeff Sneider of The Insneider also discussed the possibility of the Joker character receiving his own television show. “I can confirm that Matt Reeves has big plans for Barry Keoghan’s Joker, who was glimpsed behind bars at the end of The Batman. According to Devin Faraci’s Marvelvision podcast, Keoghan will star in his own TV series that will be positioned between The Batman Part II and The Batman Part III, the latter of which he’ll appear as the main villain,” according to Sneider’s report.

Sneider went on to say that the show would connect the second and third Batman films. The story for the proposed series would be similar to how the ongoing The Penguin series serves as a bridge between The Batman and The Batman Part II.

In The Batman, Keoghan appeared briefly as an unnamed inmate in Arkham Asylum. But in a deleted scene between he and Batman, his character was revealed to be the Joker.

The news of the potential Joker television show comes after Reeves spoke about his hopes for a larger The Batman universe in the past. In September, he told Entertainment Weekly that he would be interested in creating a crime epic saga that features a variety of characters. This week, the Saturn Award-winning director told Andy Serkis that he hopes to continue making shows focused on specific Batman characters.

Reeves confirmed that “We have been talking, and it’s exciting because people are now embracing” The Penguin, he said. “My fantasy is coming into being, which is very exciting, and HBO has been incredibly supportive from the beginning. Now, to see that the show is being embraced is really, really exciting. We have been talking about doing other shows.”

According to Reeves, The Batman‘s spinoff series allow dramatic stories about Gotham and its dysfunction to be told. “I wanted to make sure that we didn’t do the origin tale, which so many of the other series have done. I think the idea of being able to put a lens on these characters is a really exciting idea,” he said.

Reeves continued, “It’s about cities and their dysfunction and the world and its dysfunction, which is what Batman stories are all about. They’re all about Gotham being a place that should be better. You can have the experience of this almost novelistic epic crime saga, but you also just get these separate experiences. They have their own dramatic value.”

The Batman Part III will reportedly feature the Clown Prince of Crime participating in a rematch with the Caped Crusader. The show will establish how the two characters crossing paths during the vigilante’s first year operating in Gotham City.

Reeves’ plans for a larger Batman universe have gone through big changes over the past few years. In 2020, a television series for Max about the Gotham City Police Department that was believed to be tied to The Batman was announced. However, the show never materialized. Another rumored series about Arkham Asylum was also reported to be in development, although the project was also never produced.

But Tonight, DC Studios co-chief James Gunn is disputing multiple reports that have percolated across the internet that the studio has been pursuing a TV series starring Barry Keoghan as the Joker, a character the actor originated in a brief cameo in 2022’s “The Batman.”

“A Joker series is not being discussed nor has even come up at this time,” Gunn posted to Threads. I guess it’s not happening now.

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