11 Upcoming Movies Which Might Revive Dying Genres

8. Joker - Gritty DC Movies

Shazam! is currently doing exceptional work for DC movies on the less serious side, so with any luck Todd Phillips's Joker will do the same thing for DC's favourite gritty movies. Like some of the other flicks on this list, there's a lot of secrecy surrounding Joker, but the trailer and test footage have shown us a more cerebral take on the Clown Prince of Crime than the misstep we last saw in Suicide Squad.

This looks to be an extended, distinct, low-budget take on Batman's archenemy, an introspective descent into comedian Arthur Fleck's madness and eventual life of crime. Joaquin Phoenix's Joker grows from but a man beaten down by the world around him into the arch-villain we all secretly adore. Moving away from the shared universe approach to the DCEU has enabled a far more interesting exploration of the Joker character than Jared Leto's "edgy" Joker ever will be.

Whether Phoenix's performance will be up to the gold standard of Heath Ledger's turn in The Dark Knight is a separate issue. The bottom line is, Phillips' Joker definitely looks like it will make us put on a happy face when it releases later this year.