The Joker will look a little different when audiences see the character next in LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight, and that's by design. Rather than an adaptation of any one Batman story, the new TT Games title is a tribute to all of the Caped Crusader's adventures across his vast media legacy. By necessity, that also means that LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight has to evolve some of its villains as well, and with the Joker appearing in Batman's history almost as often as the hero himself, there's been much speculation over how the character will appear in the new game.
Marketing for LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight has now revealed two distinct Joker portrayals that will be featured in the game: Jack Nicholson's from Batman and Heath Ledger's from The Dark Knight. Jonathan Smith, the head of LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight's development team, revealed to IGN that these transitions are all an intentional part of the story, with the Joker going on a journey just as much as Batman does.
Smith explained that "the story takes place over many years," and that the Joker "has an origin story" which fans will "get a glimpse of:"
"The story takes place over many years, and as Bruce grows, as you, the player, explore more of Gotham City, start to build the Bat-family, everything around Bruce starts to transform as well. As you know, that Joker character that we all know from later on in Batman's crime fighting career has an origin story as well. We'll get a glimpse of that."
The Joker has had many different origins that put him on the path to becoming the Clown Prince of Crime across DC history. The question has been which of these origin stories LEGO Batman 4 plans to include in its game. The answer seems to be that the team at TT Games will incorporate several different Joker iterations at different points in the character's history, utilizing whichever makes the most sense for that time in the game's story.
As for where this story begins and how these evolutions will take place, Smith highlighted notable points in the Joker's on-screen history, including confirming that fans will see "key moments" from Batman (1989) and The Dark Knight trilogy.
"Then we'll see key moments, he falls into the vat of ACE chemicals, he will fall later from another great height as Jack Nicholson [as] that character does in the end of Batman (1989). We'll see him transform as Batman progresses as well, to become a character who does some of the striking and shocking things that we see in the Christopher Nolan trilogy."
Previews for LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight have already hinted at how the Joker's story begins in this game, tracing his origins back to an early comic story in which Joker began as the Red Hood. From there, it seems he will become the Jack Nicholson-era Joker that launched the character's big-screen career, before transitioning into the more recent Heath Ledger version.
Smith's comments suggest that the game will draw on pivotal moments in Joker's life to explain his transitions into a single arc, rather than involving separate Joker characters. The game will do a similar thing for Batman himself, stitching together different moments from his career in comics, movies, and games to create a cohesive narrative and central Batman character, while allowing players to pick from a variety of Batsuits to suit their tastes.
This new trajectory for the Joker makes sense given what LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight is trying to do. Utilizing the Red Hood arc allows LEGO Batman 4 to pay homage to one of the character's earliest comic-book origin stories, which ties in nicely with Jack Nicholson's character's origin story at the chemical plant in Batman (1989). Meanwhile, Heath Ledger's Joker never revealed his origin story, so it's logical that LEGO Batman will have that transition take place later in the story, with a "fall from another great height" seemingly providing the link between the two iterations.
LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight will be released on May 29, 2026, on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.
How Many Jokers Will LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight Have?
So far, LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight seems to have confirmed at least three different Joker portrayals that will be used at different points in the game's narrative. The question is, how far along in the Joker's career will the game go?
Multiple actors have played the Joker, including Mark Hamill, who voiced the character across multiple animated iterations and in the Batman Arkham games. Jared Leto's short-lived version in the DCEU appeared in Suicide Squad and Zack Snyder's Justice League. There's also Joaquin Phoenix's Oscar-winning performance in Joker, and its follow-up, Joker: Folie à Deux, which have often been considered standalone movies outside of any existing DC canon.
Smith confirmed in his interview that the new LEGO Batman game would touch on "everything across the history of the franchise," including "absolutely" Zack Snyder's time with the Dark Knight. So, with Ben Affleck's Batman confirmed to feature, that could mean Leto's Joker will be his counterpart during that section of the story. It also doesn't rule out an appearance from Phoenix's Joker, or any of his other iterations, for that matter.
Joker is a particularly exciting character in LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight because, even though he is not one of the initial playable characters in the LEGO game, Joker will be available to play as in the planned Mayhem Collection add-on, with his own abilities, takedowns, and gadgets available.
