Joker director talks balancing comic book lore and new elements in the film

Joker director Todd Phillips explains how he was able to find a creative balance for the DC Comics film.

Joker is set to give audiences a vastly different take on the classic comic book villain. Considered to be an “Elseworlds” story by most fans, it takes place in a continuity separate from the mainstream DC Extended Universe, and the DC Comics universe. When taking on the film, director Todd Phillips had an interesting task ahead of him, but he ultimately found a creative medium that suited his needs.

While speaking with Comicbook.com, Phillips revealed that the earlier versions of Joker featured more references to the character’s comic book roots. These elements were ultimately downplayed in the finished product. However, the filmmaker loves the notion of having a film that draws from the comics and brings in original concepts:

"“There was probably a little more in earlier cuts, maybe. There definitely was a little more everything in the earlier cuts, but it was really about how fun it is that we get to keep one foot in the comic book world and one foot in not and like you said find that balance.”"

What made things even easier for him and his team is that Warner Bros. and DC Comics were flexible in regard to the direction of the movie. Phillips was never faced with a mandate to make connections to other characters or add Easter Eggs:

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"“It’s hard to quantify how we found that balance, but it was, the movie is very liberating because DC, just speaking about comic books, DC as a company and Warner Bros as a studio really just let us do whatever we wanted with it. It wasn’t like ‘oh and you have to mention the Batmobile and you have to…’ none of that. It was literally like ‘yeah, were going to take this leap on this movie. Just go for it and do it.'”"

The studios’ willingness to try new things has led to a finished film that exists firmly in its own world. Phillips stressed that “this movie just stands on its own” and says he doesn’t “see that Arthur Fleck fighting anyone.” He’s likely referring to Batman, who he has previously said won’t meet up with this version of the Clown Prince of Crime.

From the moment the first trailer was released, it was clear that Joker was going to be something different within the superhero genre. Phillips is reverencing the comics in some ways, but he’s clearly put his own spin on this section of Batman lore. We’ll see exactly what the film has to offer when it arrives in theaters on October 4th.