There certainly won't be a shortage of Jokers over the next year. Not only is Warner Bros. rumored to be developing multiple Joker-centric projects, but an origin film is currently filming with Joaquin Phoenix. Over in TV land, Gotham has its own form of the Joker with Cameron Monaghan's Jeremiah. However, even with Phoenix's high-profile Joker on the way, Monaghan isn't paying much attention to the new clown on the block.
I am trying not to look at it too much because I just don't want to make something that's the same as what he is doing. But it is inescapable.
For the past few years on Gotham, Cameron Monaghan has been playing the closest version of the Joker that the show has portrayed. Monaghan plays twin brothers Jerome and Jeremiah; both have murderous, Joker-like tendencies, but are never actually called Joker on the show. Regardless, Monaghan is basically the Joker, but he's not paying too much attention to Joaquin Phoenix's take because he doesn't want to accidentally copy anything he's doing.
However, Cameron Monaghan goes on to tell IGN that Joaquin Phoenix's take on the classic character will no doubt be unique and interesting. He also thinks that it's cool that the film will be R-rated, which means that it will naturally be different than what Gotham does on a weekly basis.
Cameron Monaghan hits the nail right on the head there with how the two Jokers will be different. Gotham delights in the campy and over the top. That's its charm, and it's learned to do it pretty well over the course of its four -- soon to be five -- seasons. Joker, on the other hand, will be vastly different and incredibly serious. It's said to be in the vein of a New York City crime thriller, which is about as far as you can get from Gotham and its zombies and balloon-themed villains.
If we're going to be surrounded by Jokers, then at least they won't be the same thing. Of course, we are still left to wonder what's happening with Jared Leto's controversial take on the character, but I suppose the best way to put it is that it's in flux right now.
We've still got a long way to go before the release of Joker on October 4, 2019, but the wait for the new season of Gotham won't be that bad. The fifth and final season will hit Fox on Thursday, January 3, 2019, and will finally feature Bane and possibly Harley Quinn to the cast of characters. For more DC movies hitting theaters, here's what Warner Bros. has planned to release over the next few years.
