Judging by the trailers alone, Todd Phillip's Joker is shaping up to be different from any other comic book movie in recent years.
For one thing, it could be far more grounded than even Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight trilogy. For another, the film is intentionally divorced from much of the Batman mythos. But despite this, there seems to be a very huge part of Batman's origin being set up in footage released so far.
The latest trailers feature a movie poster for the film Excalibur, which is playing in theaters in the film. The same film is advertised outside the theater that the Waynes take Bruce to before their deaths in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.
With that in mind, let's look at how the film might be thematically setting up the death of Bruce's parents, and what that might mean for the film's link to the source material.
One theme of Joker (confirmed by a leaked script) is the struggle between the working class of Gotham and its elite. Arthur Fleck becoming The Joker stems from him being a victim of the rampant crime and corruption destroying the city, which the rich are comparatively unaffected by.
Thomas Wayne in this film will also be portrayed in a far less flattering light than usual. Here, he'll be written as a sort of over the top Donald Trump stand-in. This image of a rich businessman who revels in excess as the poor of his city survive in squalor is obviously meant to cast him as the antagonist in Arthur Fleck's eyes.
As Fleck devolves into Joker, it makes sense that he would target the image of his supposed oppression. Joker killing Thomas and his wife would also cement his status as the most ruthless criminal in Gotham City. As much as Thomas Wayne may represent '80s excess and big business in this movie, his death at the hands of street crime would remove all hope of any in Gotham being safe from what the city has become.
The first trailer showed Fleck stopping to play with a young boy who may well be a young Bruce Wayne. Given how Thomas Wayne will be characterized in the movie, Bruce Wayne may similarly be portrayed as a spoiled prince, unfettered by the ruin occurring to the city around him. This could set up the rivalry between Joker and Batman, with the former hating the latter since he was a child.
If the gate that "Bruce" is behind is the gate to Wayne Manor, than Fleck may feel locked out of the wealth and opulence of the Waynes, the same as the rest of Gotham feels. If Joker himself is the one to do the Waynes in, this would make their deaths far more intentional and personal than most other versions, where it is simply the result of a random mugger.
The death of the Waynes is, naturally, one of the most serially depicted scenes in the various Batman adaptations. And, because of this, it's also one that fans are ambivalent to see yet again in the near future.
Despite that sentiment, having the Waynes die in the climax of Joker would be a way to firmly connect the Batman mythology to a movie that otherwise drastically downplays it. Though are some other elements of the film which reference different takes on Batman, there are others that strengthen the argument that this film will kill the Waynes again.
The film's plot, from what we can tell so far, generally seems to be a more detailed version of the origin given to the Joker in Alan Moore and Brian Bolland's landmark story, The Killing Joke, which also dealt with the decaying societal morality that surrounded the world of Batman and The Joker. The film will more than likely touch upon similar themes, albeit without the moral debate between the two figures in its climax.
The aforementioned Excalibur film references both Batman v Superman and a central part of Batman's origin. In Batman v Superman, Bruce Wayne's parents are killed after taking him to see the film, following the tradition of the Waynes' murder taking place after they bring Bruce to a swashbuckling adventure film, typically The Mask of Zorro.
This is a thematic link with Bruce later becoming a gallant hero himself, a point even more obvious by using Excalibur. It would also cement Batman and Joker being mirror opposites. Whereas Batman is inspired by chivalrous knight figures, Joker is a failed comedian and lowly salesman.
Having Joker be the one to kill the Waynes would also be a reference to Tim Burton's Batman from 1989. There, The Joker (or Jack Napier) replaced Joe Chill as the man who murdered Thomas and Martha. Though the film here might be even more divorced from Batman's usual trappings than that one was, it would still seem to be inspired by its various permutations.
Directed by Todd Phillips, Joker stars Joaquin Phoenix, Robert De Niro, Zazie Beetz, Bill Camp, Frances Conroy, Brett Cullen, Glenn Fleshler, Douglas Hodge, Marc Maron, Josh Pais and Shea Whigham. The film arrives in theaters Oct. 4.
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