With the success of the Joker film in theaters: Just how will DC react to it ?

[Cmbmool]

Given the rising success of the Joker film it makes me wonder how will DC react to this ? Will the Joker once again change to fit the successful film that is the Todd Phillips Joker ?

As fans of the Joker: What do you think of this ?

[Osiris-Rex]

Given the rising success of the Joker film it makes me wonder how will DC react to this ? Will the Joker once again change to fit the successful film that is the Todd Phillips Joker ?

As fans of the Joker: What do you think of this ?

I just hope WB doesn't get the idea that audiences like dark movies and try to make all their comic book movies dark again like they did with Man of Steel after the success of the Dark Knight trilogy.
We need movies like Shazam! and Aquaman too and I hope Birds of Prey and The Suicide Squad are goofy and stupid.

[Robanker]

They're going to rush produce darker films, ideally focused on their villains and with smaller budgets. WB is only capable of the most surface level of analysis.

[yada]

Id say theyll react by making a sequel and probably rush it out. While I dont hate the dc movies they clearly suffered from being rushed to copy marvels formula.

[Restingvoice]

Positively, it will open them up for standalone films not having to be tied to continuity.

Negatively, it will push them even further to avoid the more colorful comic book stuff and go dark realism

Kinda like how The Dark Knight makes them go with dark aesthetic for the Snyderverse

On the other hand, there's Wonder Woman and Aquaman who are popular, so I don't think they'll abandon comic book stuff and completely go dark. I guess it all depends on how much money they got from each and the sum of it.

How Shazam did by the way?

[bat39]

If you're talking about how much the comic-book character of Joker will change, well, I don't think he'll change that much honestly. At most, something like the Phoenix version of his backstory will be added to the annals of Joker origin stories. You might get some references to Joker blaming his insanity on his abusive mother. Maybe "Arthur Fleck" will start being used as a common Joker alias the way "Jack Napier" is. Maybe we'll have a story-arc with the Joker inspiring some kind of populist uprising.

In terms of how it affects DC Films - well, this film offers a solid alternative to the MCU formula. I can definitely see more standalone character-driven and R-rated films. Whether they will capture the magic of Joker or not is another matter entirely.

[Aahz]

How Shazam did by the way?

Not that great unfortunately, it made only 364 Million world wide.

I still think that they kind of screwed up with the release date, it was kind of Christmas Movie but they released it in April and right between Captain Marvel and Endgame.

[Gotham citizen]

They're going to rush produce darker films, ideally focused on their villains and with smaller budgets. WB is only capable of the most surface level of analysis.

And they will screw everything because they aren't able to understand that the harshness of Joker isn't the reason of Joker's success, but only the way to let the viewer live the inexorable descent of Arthur Fleck toward the madnes and why his only chance to redemption whas embrace that madness becoming Joker. In my humble opinion the only way to create another movie good like Joker is understand that a great movie needs a great plot, a great script and a great staff of professionals who put their talents at the service of the story; that is the secret at the base of movie like "Twelve angry men", "Guess who's coming to dinner", "The good, the bad and the ugly" or "Fight club". If they think (like I think) to repeat the success of Joker making movies harsh like Joker, because "this is what the audience wants", they will realize only an ugly movie after another.

[Robanker]

And they will screw everything because they aren't able to understand that the harshness of Joker isn't the reason of Joker's success, but only the way to let the viewer live the inexorable descent of Arthur Fleck toward the madnes and why his only chance to redemption whas embrace that madness becoming Joker. In my humble opinion the only way to create another movie good like Joker is understand that a great movie needs a great plot, a great script and a great staff of professionals who put their talents at the service of the story; that is the secret at the base of movie like "Twelve angry men", "Guess who's coming to dinner", "The good, the bad and the ugly" or "Fight club". If they think (like I think) to repeat the success of Joker making movies harsh like Joker, because "this is what the audience wants", they will realize only an ugly movie after another.

WB has proven time and again that they don't know how to gauge success. They're going to get "dark and villains = profit" out of this and be done with it.

[Gotham citizen]

Exactly!
That is why I wrote: «…they will screw everything because they aren't able to understand that the harshness of Joker isn't the reason of Joker's success…»

[Mistah K88]

I just hope WB doesn't get the idea that audiences like dark movies and try to make all their comic book movies dark again like they did with Man of Steel after the success of the Dark Knight trilogy.
We need movies like Shazam! and Aquaman too and I hope Birds of Prey and The Suicide Squad are goofy and stupid.

This is EXACTLY what WB will do.

As far as DC, they might think of making Arthur Fleck and alias or maybe even take some design cues from the movie for Joker (i.e. looking more like a clown)

[Jim Kelly]

I don't take any of the Joker aliases seriously. They all in some way refer back to the character and therefore can't be for real--they're jokes and puns. Arthur Fleck not only seems a meta refrerence to Ben Affleck (or Casey Affleck) but also A. Fleck--a fleck--is a small mark, which is what Arthur Fleck is in his world, a fleck, before he has his apotheosis. Jack Napier is clearly a play on jackanapes--also the Jack is a playing card. Joe Kerr is joker. Dr. J. Reko is an anagram for Dr. Joker. Melvin White refers to his white face and a melvin, a dweeb or a social outcast. Jack White likewise with the white face and the jackanapes. Oberon Sexton is a combination of the king of faeries and a gravedigger.

[Scott Taylor]

Based on past history, they'll get all excited, overreact and do something hasty and stupid. Put Joker sloppily into the new Batman movie, have Wonder Woman visit Gotham City in her new film or give Harley some lines referencing the events of the film.

[Vakanai]

My hope is DC will just greenlight some one off elseworld type Joker stories or whatever. I liked that Joker OGN from a decade~ish ago, and White Knight was fun. If some versions take inspiration from the new movie, fun. As for the mainstream comics, meh, any change will be retconned or something later down the line probably. I don't see why we should worry about any of it.Buy what looks good, skip the rest.

[Osiris-Rex]

I don't take any of the Joker aliases seriously. They all in some way refer back to the character and therefore can't be for real--they're jokes and puns. Arthur Fleck not only seems a meta refrerence to Ben Affleck (or Casey Affleck) but also A. Fleck--a fleck--is a small mark, which is what Arthur Fleck is in his world, a fleck, before he has his apotheosis. Jack Napier is clearly a play on jackanapes--also the Jack is a playing card. Joe Kerr is joker. Dr. J. Reko is an anagram for Dr. Joker. Melvin White refers to his white face and a melvin, a dweeb or a social outcast. Jack White likewise with the white face and the jackanapes. Oberon Sexton is a combination of the king of faeries and a gravedigger.

From what I have read Jack Napier was based on Jack Nicholson and a tribute to Alan Napier, the actor who played Alfred in the Batman 1966 TV series. In the Batwoman TV series it was revealed that Joker's true name is
indeed Jack Napier. At least that is what his name is listed as on official documents.