Why DC Just Cancelled Jared Leto's Joker Movies

1. They're Taking A Different Approach To Harley

Harley Quinn
Margot Robbie/Instagram

As was previously mentioned, Harley Quinn has quickly become one of DC's most popular properties these last few years. The release of Suicide Squad catapulted the character into newfound heights of popularity, and with Margot Robbie committed to the role for the next few years, WB have alerted to the character's franchise potential.

The character gets top billing in Cathy Yan's upcoming Birds of Prey film, and though that too is another ensemble, it seems a given that Quinn will occupy an integral role. Compared to Suicide Squad 2 and Gotham City Sirens, where Quinn would've likely played a not-so-important role under Ayer's guidance, it's understandable as to why WB have opted to let the character move forward on her own, with new allies, and without the Joker.

Given how most of Quinn's success in recent years has stemmed from her not being with the Joker, separating the character and ditching Leto altogether is actually way more obvious than it probably seems, especially now that he's contracted to Sony's Universe of Marvel Characters.

Joaquin Phoenix is gearing up for a new, Elseworlds-style take on the character away from DCEU continuity, and without Leto's Joker holding her down, Quinn has all the freedom she needs to survive, thrive, and usher in a whole new era of DC stories.

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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.