Joker Origin Movie: 7 Comic Storylines DC Could Adapt

With so many Clown Princes to choose from, which would work best?

by Ewan Paterson
DC Comics

The Joker is, as always, pretty much everywhere. The Dark Knight's premier adversary is starting to outgrow their relationship, at least supposedly, as Warner Bros. look to include the character in several films going forward.

There's the Suicide Squad sequel, the purported Joker/Harley "rom-com" (blegh), another solo film involving Jared Leto's character, and a few other appearances sure to follow. The one worth the most attention, however, is WB's planned origin story being produced by Martin Scorsese and written by Todd Phillips. Joaquin Phoenix is set to star as the titular character, which is said to be a loose adaptation of Alan Moore and Brian Bolland's seminal, albeit controversial comic, The Killing Joke.

Phillips et al. should tread carefully however. The Clown Prince's origin, though detailed in that particular storyline, has never been definitive; part of the fascination surrounding the character stems from the fact that he's constantly changing, and that no one truly knows his story. As the rogue says in Moore's comic, if he's to have a past, he'd prefer to be "multiple choice", and with so many Joker stories to choose from, the old adage applies to audiences too.

With schemes involving murder, Dick Sprang-style murder machines and even fish, these are the stories that'll make this particular film one worth exploring.

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Content Producer/Presenter

WhatCulture's very own resident movie guy, Ewan has been working in the content creation biz for over 10 years now, having started as a freelance contributor to WhatCulture Gaming all the way back in 2015. After graduating with a First-Class Honours in History from Northumbria University in 2017 (where he won a prize for a totally killer dissertation on the Watergate years), Ewan took on the role of Comics Editor at WhatCulture and quickly developed WhatCulture Comics into one of the biggest superhero-focused channels on YouTube. He followed this with a brief hiatus at Screen Rant in 2021, where he worked across the Gaming and Film sections as a writer and editor, before returning to WhatCulture as a Senior Content Producer / Presenter in 2023. He started his own podcast, We Love Dad Movies, in 2022, and has contributed several written pieces to the Eisner-nominated comics website Shelfdust as well. In his current role, Ewan incorporates his love of cinema, comic books, and history into written pieces and video essays for WhatCulture's Film & TV channel, as well as WhatCulture Gaming and WhatCulture Horror, with a particular focus on nineties-era Dad Movies, old school Westerns, and Golden Age Hollywood Noir. John Carpenter is his fave, and he thinks Batman Beyond should never have been cancelled. If that's your vibe, you'll probably like his stuff.