The Batman: 10 Essential Stories For Affleck's 2019 Solo Movie

5. The Joker Returns

Not a story taken explicitly from the comics, but following the incomplete thread of The Dark Knight and taking inspiration from The Dark Knight Returns. Nolan's trilogy was tragically robbed of an opportunity to add a full-stop to the Joker's arc with the death of Heath Ledger, but though it was never expressly mentioned in The Dark Knight Rises it isn't unreasonable to surmise that he would have escaped when Bane let Gotham's villains loose. If Warners were to take the grains of that story as the foundation, and work in the knowledge that Batman has returned from his exile or retirement (assuming elements of that might be brought in to Snyder's unified DCU) they could establish a fan-baiting narrative that pays homage to Nolan's trilogy indirectly as well as offering an opportunity to see the iconic villain back on screen. The Joker feels like the appropriate villain to justify a stand-alone Batman film: he is the old threat who is as deeply personal to Batman as Hush, and having other heroes help in his capture would be unfitting. And of course, we'd get the opportunity to see an older actor cast as The Joker too.