Jared Leto’s Joker To Get Standalone Movie After Success Of 2016 ‘Suicide Squad,’ Despite Mixed Reviews

With a 27 percent rating on film-critic aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, a slightly better but still awful 40 percent positive rating on Metacritic, and a tepid 6.1 / 10 on IMDB.com, Suicide Squad was a movie that divided audiences and united critics in their disdain for the actioner. Hypnotic yet disjointed, stylish yet superficial, the 2016 film was certainly one thing beyond dispute – financially successful. Making ~$746 million worldwide in box office revenue against an approximate $250 million production budget, it appears that the minds behind Suicide Squad are up for another romp in the same vein, this time focusing exclusively on Jared Leto’s unique portrayal of the iconic Joker, according to Yahoo! Entertainment.

? #SuicideSquad pic.twitter.com/CZ18IzS2He

— The Suicide Squad (@SuicideSquadWB) September 6, 2016

Leto’s extremely different take on the tragic clown was a source of much internet argument, both over the visual look of the character as well as over the very short screen time actually offered up to Leto in the film despite being the primary talent shown on marketing materials, giving the impression to many fans of having been misled. Fans looking to see Leto actually get to dig a little deeper into the twisted psyche of Gotham’s most famous and venerable villain will finally get their chance with this spinoff, and although release dates haven’t been set, it’s looking like audiences can expect to finally see the result late next year.

It is not entirely clear whether or not the movie will enter production before or after the sequel proper to Suicide Squad, which is slated to begin filming next year, but the logical conclusion being offered up by most industry analysts indicates that Leto and Robbie’s one-offs will likely begin before.

Leto’s on-screen romantic partner, the immensely popular Harley Quinn as played by quirky and enthusiastic actress Margot Robbie, will be getting her own solo journey on the silver screen as well. The Harley Quinn standalone has been said to be based on a girl-gang storyline originating from the Birds of Prey comic series.

Will the DC Universe persist in direct competition with the Marvel Comics Universe? After fan reaction to Batman vs. Superman and Justice League, both dubbed critical and commercial flops, it may make sense for Warner Bros. and DC Comics to focus on smaller, less inter-connected stories. While Wonder Woman did well for itself in terms of the audience reaction as well as ticket receipts, it was a major outlier and focused primarily on telling its own stories. Perhaps there is a lesson to be learned there for the DC Universe. With the release of their Aquaman story coming soon, starring the simply massive Jason Momoa, only time will tell whether this is the right approach.