You would have a tough time finding a bad guy more recognizable than The Joker. Gotham City's least favorite clown has become a silver screen fixture over the course of the last 50 years, and an eclectic range of actors have stepped in to take on the role for each passing generation. Now it seems that Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 star Karen Gillan wants a crack at the character. In fact, when a fan at Florida SuperCon asked her which character (from a non-Marvel fandom) she would like to play, the MCU actress expressed her desire to become the Clown Princess of Crime, saying:
Okay, I'm going to say something DC, and I'm going to play the Joker. Maybe a female Joker. This is my calling! Somebody make a call for me and let them know I'm available.
From Cesar Romero to Jared Leto, there's no shortage of Jokers to choose from in the character's long cinematic history, and this could represent an impressive next step. Although Karen Gillan is currently known for her work as Nebula in the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise, she seems to think that she has what it takes to channel that villainy in the DCEU for her unique take on Batman's arch nemesis. If she brings half of the intensity that she currently brings to Nebula, something tells me she could nail it.
Before the purists out there get all worked up over the prospect of changing Joker's gender, it's worth mentioning that there's precedent for this possibility in DC lore. Female Jokers have popped up over the years (albeit not as frequently as male Jokers), with Martha Wayne's Flashpoint Joker arguably becoming the most iconic female incarnation of the character. In that version of the story, Martha Wayne survives her encounter with Joe Chill in Crime Alley but goes crazy when she sees Bruce Wayne's dead body lying on the ground -- turning her into Joker, and turning Thomas Wayne into Batman.
With The Flash: Flashpoint currently in development, there's an easy path for Karen Gillan to become the demented version of Mrs. Wayne -- provided The Walking Dead's Lauren Cohan doesn't reprise the role. Beyond that, however, there's simply no reason to think that The Joker even needs to be male. Nothing about his character requires a man to play the part, and TV shows like Gotham have toyed with the idea of branching out from the traditional male version of the character.
So why does Karen Gillan want to play Joker? Well, the actress continued her comments at SuperCon (via Cosplay and Coffee) and explained that villains tend to be far more interesting and have complicated origins for her to dive into as an actress. Gillan elaborated:
I like playing villains just because I hope and feel that they're removed from my own personality quite a lot. So it's more of a challenge. But also, what I like about villains is finding out why they're villains in the first place. And then you start to question whether they really are villains if you understand all of the bad stuff that happened to them, and you understand how they ended up that way.
It's hard not to get excited about that. Joker is one of the most interesting characters in all of fiction, and Gillan's willingness to truly dive into that psyche holds quite a bit of promise. While we have no way of knowing if the DCEU will ever get a female Joker, it's hard to deny that the prospect of Karen Gillan taking on such a role is intriguing to no end.
For now, you can catch Karen Gillan as Nebula in James Gunn's Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 -- which is currently available on Digital HD and will hit shelves on Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K on August 22. Looking ahead to the rest of 2017, check out our movie premiere guide to keep yourself posted on the remainder of this year's theatrical releases!
