UPDATE: DC Studios co-CEO James Gunn has weighed in on the reports of a Joker TV show, saying that they are absolutely false and that “there is absolutely no truth” to the rumors.
“Turn on threads and everyone is asking me about this,” said Gunn in his post on Threads. “No there is absolutely no truth to this. A Joker series is not being discussed nor has even come up at this time. Sorry.”
Original Story: A Joker TV show is reportedly in development from Matt Reeves, with rumors pointing to the show leading into a potential third The Batman film, similar to HBO’s The Penguin structure.
What do we know about a potential Joker TV show?
News of the show first broke via the Marvelvision podcas. Former critic Devin Faraci noted that Warner Bros. Discovery is looking ahead to future plans for the Joker character from The Batman, including a potential Joker-centric spin-off series. This would lead into The Batman 3 if made.
In a separate report corroborating the original story, Jeff Sneider of The Insneider seconded the rumors going around. “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, in which he’ll appear as the main villain,” read Sneider’s report.
Sneider went on to say that the series would serve “as a bridge between [The] Batman sequels,” similar to how the ongoing The Penguin series serves as a bridge between The Batman and The Batman Part II.
In The Batman, Barry Keoghan appeared incredibly 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.
Matt Reeves has opened up about his hopes for a larger The Batman universe in the past. In September, he told Entertainment Weekly that he’d love to create a “crime epic” saga that covers a variety of characters. Just this past week, he told Andy Serkis that he hopes to continue making shows focused on specific characters.
Reeves’ plans for a grander Batman universe have gone through some big changes over the past few years. In 2020, a Max series about the Gotham City Police Department was announced and said to be tying into The Batman. However, that project never came to be. Another rumored series about Arkham Asylum was also said to be in the works, although nothing ever came of that project.
