James Gunn's DC just debuted a new Joker, and he looks more menacing than ever. The Clown Prince of Crime is one of the most iconic villains in Batman lore and, naturally, he's been adapted into various DC media over the years. Now, almost four years after Gunn and Peter Safran took over DC Studios in late 2022, the studio is finally adapting its own take on the Ace of Knaves.
Joker appears in Bruce Timm and J.J. Abrams' Batman: Caped Crusader Season 2, an Elseworlds-style production from Warner Bros. Animation, Amazon MGM Studios, and Bad Robot, branded and distributed under James Gunn's DC Studios label, although it doesn’t belong in the main DC Universe continuity.
The Prime Video series, which premiered on July 31, takes place in a gritty 1940s noir version of Gotham City where crime runs rampant, and the only man capable of protecting it is Batman. The season is packed with some of the most iconic villains in Batman lore, with a few getting an unconventional twist, like the Mad Hatter, who has been gender-swapped, taking on the name Hattie Tettch instead.
This continuity's Joker, who was first teased in a cameo in the final episode of Season 1, has been reimagined too. Voiced by House of the Dragon star Matthew Needham, Caped Crusader's Clown Prince isn't like any that has been adapted on screen before. He's a stoic, no-nonsense European criminal who doesn't crack jokes like the typical Joker iterations seen in modern media.
Caped Crusader's take is inspired by the villain's earliest comic book appearances and German Expressionist cinema, an era where he didn't laugh nearly as much as later versions do. Joker stays in the shadows for the majority of Season 2 but finally makes a proper appearance in the final two episodes, revealing himself as Gotham's greatest threat, the mastermind behind a toxin that has infected Gotham's citizens and threatens to consume the entire city, turning everyone into laughing lunatics.
He infects Hattie Tettch during her live broadcast and announces his plan to murder Mayor Jessop, a promise he eventually delivers on.
The season ends with a brutal fight between Joker and Batman in the finale on a building's rooftop. The battle ends with Joker being impaled by a steel pole and seemingly falling to his death while cracking a rare laugh. Needham described his version of the Joker to The Direct as "very serious, very cold, not fun, but absolutely evil."
Other DC Studios Versions of Joker That Could Appear Next
The Batman Epic Crime Saga Joker
DC Studios will definitely bring another Joker to the screen, and the most likely destination is Matt Reeves' The Batman Epic Crime Saga, which has already teased its version of the Clown Prince. Barry Keoghan, who plays Joker in this corner of DC, made a cameo appearance in the final scenes of The Batman, laughing alongside Paul Dano's Riddler at Arkham Asylum.
Keoghan will reprise the role in the sequel, The Batman Part II, which arrives on February 18, 2028, but it's unclear how big his role will be this time. Reeves' take on the Joker is also very unique, as this Clown Prince suffers from a congenital disease that leaves his face disfigured, a choice Reeves has said was inspired by The Elephant Man.
The DCU's Joker
James Gunn's main continuity, the DC Universe, is still lacking its own Batman, with The Brave and the Bold not looking like it will arrive anytime soon. The film centers on an older Bruce Wayne and involves the Bat-Family, a direction rarely seen in other live-action Batman adaptations. That being said, a Joker as a major antagonist in this continuity isn't far-fetched at all.
Although Batman has yet to arrive in the DCU, Gotham is gradually being established, and the Clayface teaser trailer already made key references to the Joker, most notably a sign for Amusement Mile, the abandoned amusement park the villain frequently calls home in the comics.
If Gunn does bring Joker to the DCU, his iteration of the villain will likely stand out from the rest as well. There's also a Deathstroke vs. Bane film in the works, which could give the Clown Prince his debut in this universe if not in The Brave and the Bold.
Absolute Batman Joker
DC Studios and Warner Bros. Animation announced an adult animated Absolute Batman series at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival in June, with comic writer Scott Snyder serving as showrunner and artist Nick Dragotta serving as producer. The Absolute universe has become a favorite among comic fans, flipping the script on Batman's lore by reinventing Bruce as a working-class civil engineer rather than a billionaire heir.
In this world, the Joker is completely different as well, portrayed as an immortal billionaire named Jack Grimm V who has secretly lived for over a century, posing as his own descendants, and who has never once been heard to laugh. Snyder has also said the show won't be a 1:1 adaptation but an expansion of the comic, so there's a good chance it features the Joker.
Joker: Laugh Riot
At Annecy, another DC Studios project set in Batman's world was announced, and this one is built on Joker himself. Joker: Laugh Riot, DC Studios' first anime series, from Sola Entertainment with director Yasuhiro Aoki and executive producer Jim Krieg, is set in a Gotham where the Dark Knight is murdered, a move that deeply angers Joker. The Clown Prince goes on a ruthless crusade through Gotham's underworld, looking for who is responsible, but his violent quest pushes him closer to vigilante than villain, forcing him to confront the truth that without Batman, he doesn't know who he is.
Geraldo Amartey is a writer at The Direct. He joined the team in 2025, bringing with him four years of experience covering entertainment news, pop culture, and fan-favorite franchises for sites like YEN, Briefly and Tuko.
