10 Recent Movies That Never Should've Worked (But Did)

It's not that a parody of The Joker shot through the lens of a transgender woman should've been an inherent artistic failure, but rather that it's incredible this film was ever actually released at all.

The People's Joker, a creation of trans filmmaker Vera Drew, is an unofficial, unendorsed DC Comics parody, which reimagines the Clown Prince of Crime's origin story as an expression of gender identity and self-acceptance.

Almost immediately after the film was announced to premiere at 2022's Toronto International Film Festival, Drew received irate letters from an unnamed "media conglomerate," assumed by most to be Warner Bros. Discovery, pressuring her not to go ahead with the screening.

The People's Joker nevertheless screened to rave reviews, though Drew pulled further screenings at the festival due to the obvious rights issues, which in turn raised questions about whether Drew's film would ever be available to watch through legitimate channels.

Ultimately it did end up releasing theatrically and on streaming in the middle of 2024, likely due to Warner Bros.' decision to more-or-less ignore the film. This was surely a calculated decision on their part to avoid invoking the Streisand effect - that is, granting the project more publicity by dragging it through the legal mud.