Why Todd Phillips’ ‘Joker’ should humanize the Clown Prince of Crime

Todd Phillips may want to aim to make the Clown Prince of Crime relatable in Joker.

The internet is buzzing about the teaser trailer for Todd Phillips’ Joker. With this first look at the new take on the classic villain, fans finally have some clarity on the director’s vision for the movie. By the looks of the trailer, the film will serve as an origin story for the Joker. By doing so, Phillips seeks to humanize him more than any of the character’s previous live-action portrayals have. The director evidently disagrees with many fan theories about the movie, but it’s fairly clear Joker will attempt to make the villain a sympathetic character.

But should it? In a word: yes. Several reports indicate that DC is stepping away from its attempt to build a cinematic universe. Instead, the company will focus on making individual movies. Phillips’ film is the clearest example of this approach because it seemingly ignores Suicide Squad. DC is arguably conceding that it’s impossible to beat Marvel head-on; fans practically broke the internet with their excitement when tickets for Avengers: Endgame came out. There’s no way to beat that.

So DC is going in a direct direction. Beginning with Joker, the company will start producing fresh, unconventional stories. Portraying the Joker as a crazy Batman villain has been done before (many times), but going deeper into the character’s origin and giving him a tragic backstory is a relatively new take on a villain who’s been around forever.

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Plenty of fans inherently dislike this idea. One of the staples of the Joker is his mystique and his lack of a traditional background. Phillips’ film seems poised set to buck that trend and, on paper, it could do wonders for the titular character.

Look at Alan Moore’s Batman: The Killing Joke. It’s one of the most famous, and controversial, Batman stories of all time. But, in actuality, it’s not just a Batman story; it’s about the Joker. Moore crafted what has become the definitive origin for the Clown Prince of Crime. The character is at his best when he has a heart.

In Moore’s legendary graphic novel, the Joker was a normal guy until he lost everything. His pregnant wife died in a freak accident and, as he tells Batman, it only takes one bad day for the most sane person to go crazy. That’s exactly what happened to the Joker. Giving him a reason for his villainy and his insanity makes the villain much more compelling.

As a result, Joker has an opportunity to stand out, even when Heath Ledger’s take on the character is considered unbeatable. To be a fair, time will tell if Phillips’ film will be successful. But, for now, it seems that, by taking a new approach, DC is setting itself up for success on a small scale (with the characters) and a larger one, too.