What’s the one thing Mark Hamill (The Last Jedi), Heath Ledger, Jared Leto and Jack Nicholson all have in common? You guessed it: they’ve all stepped into those oversized clown shoes and assumed the role of Gotham’s Clown Prince of Crime. Now, with news of a Joker origin story being hatched at Warner Bros., one that will presumably launch a series of “auteur-driven” DC tentpoles, the Powers That Be are beginning to cast their net in search of Gotham’s new trickster.
By leveraging Martin Scorsese’s involvement in the spinoff project, Warner has reportedly set sights on Leonardo DiCaprio for the title role, which would mark the actor’s first major foray into Hollywood’s bustling superhero genre. It would undoubtedly be a historic coup for the studio, but at least at the time of writing, there’s been no mention of Warner Bros. tabling an official deal between both parties. And as the rumors continue to swirl, renown concept artist BossLogic has posted a piece that imagines Jackie Earle Haley (Watchmen, RoboCop) as the Clown Prince of Crime.
Check it out in the gallery below along with some of his previous work:
Based on aesthetic alone, BossLogic has sided with a Dark Knight-esque get-up for the Jackie Earle Haley portrait, which places the actor in a dark purple blazer. Sporting a cropped, lime-green do, it could be argued that Haley would lead to a more reticent, haunting portrayal of Gotham’s iconic trickster – as opposed to the deranged nut we saw in Suicide Squad – but without any sign of an official offer from Warner Bros., chalk this one up as innocent conjecture.
The Joker is one of many DC projects currently in search of a release date – ditto for Batgirl, Nightwing and Gotham City Sirens, to name but three – and we’ll be bringing you all the latest as more information comes to light.