Why we should pump the brakes on a Joker origin movie

Ok, I'll admit that it's sort of crazy that the prospect of a Joker origin movie with Martin Scorsese involved doesn't excite me, but I've got plenty of reasons for it and I think more than few fans might agree with me. 

To begin with, I don't think it's going to happen in the first place. Sometimes you hear an idea that seems to good to be true and it probably is. This is an idea that while it doesn't seem too good to be true, it definitely seems too obvious to be real if that makes any sense. A Joker movie that doesn't feature Jared Leto, making the Leto haters(Not me) happy, that isn't connected to the DC Extended Universe, making the DCEU haters (definitely not me) happy, and the director of Goodfellas, Gangs of New York and The Departed is involved with it. Has anyone ever heard of Scorsese being interested in doing any comic book movies? I'm not saying he isn't, I'm just not aware of it at all so that's a randomly prestigious name to attach to one like this. On top of that, it's some kind of Elseworlds story that isn't connected to the DCEU that is still just starting out in its first phase if you will? Well I'm sure that won't be confusing at all to the general audience who saw a version of the character in Suicide Squad and then will be asked to watch a completely different one in this movie. It's just a really weird idea to throw out there timing-wise and with everything else going on. 

Then I have to ask this question: What everything else is going on? As of right now, there is still only two DCEU movies in production: Justice League and Aquaman. Shazam is said to be starting in February 2018 but we only have a director, David F. Sandberg, which is also what we have for the Batman solo movie with Matt Reeves which just like Shazam doesn't have a solid release date. In fact, of the DCEU movies after Aquaman that have been announced, Shazam, Wonder Woman 2, Flashpoint, Gotham City Sirens, The Batman, Batgirl, Nightwing, Man of Steel 2, Black Adam, Green Lantern Corps and Cyborg, the only one with an official release date at this point is Wonder Woman 2, set to release on December 13, 2019. So in the midst of all of these movies "in development" for DC as part of the DCEU, where exactly does a random unconnected Joker origin movie fit in? Well, at the moment it fits perfectly on a growing list of promises that WB/DC are making but won't commit just yet to actually keeping them. I'm not saying it needs to become rigidly structured like Marvel Studios, but it would be nice if we had just a few more of those movies actually set to go into production before random new ones get announced. 

That's a big reason why a lot of fans aren't that excited about this Joker origin movie idea. At some point, WB/DC has to stop telling all of us what movies they want to make and start actually making them for us to consume. Otherwise, why should we get excited for any new announcements they make if they are just going to sit on a list of projects stuck in development hell? On top of that, many of those other movies are projects we haven't seen on the big screen before like The Flash and Green Lantern Corps. We've seen three distinct feature film portrayals of The Joker since 1989. Do we really need another one before seeing other DC characters on the big screen that we have never seen there before? I don't subscribe to the whole BEU (Batman Extended Universe) complaint, but this news doesn't exactly put that complaint to bed either. Fans of those other properties want to see their heroes get screen time for once. As great of a character as The Joker is, he's hardly someone we've never seen on the big screen before. 

Now look, there are plenty of fans that are downright giddy about this news, ranging from excitement about a non-Leto Joker, to excitement about Scorsese's involvement all the way to being excited at the prospect of a live-action version of Kingdom Come with a whole cinematic Elseworlds tone. Generally speaking, I would be on that side excited as hell about this idea, but many of the reasons I have brought up so far are why I am not. Add to that the fact that I really like Jared Leto's Joker and want to see more of him in this shared universe as well, so Scorsese or not I don't like replacing the actor this early into the franchise. I'm certain the haters are jumping for joy about it, but I'm not at all. It's kind of silly to me. 

What makes it even more silly to me from a business standpoint is the mixed message that WB/DC appears to be ready to send the general audience. You just showed them Leto's Joker last year with Suicide Squad and despite the haters that won't go away, a lot of people complained at how little screen time he had for the role and are also eager to see more of his portrayal in the DCEU. So in the midst of that, you are going to create an entirely new origin movie for the character that isn't connected to the DCEU and you expect that the general audience won't be confused at all by this? I mean, we are talking X-Men cinematic timeline measure of confusion here. Two different Jokers at the same time? That's nothing new for a comic book fan especially those who embrace the multiverse, but who are the true money makers for these comic book movies? The die-hard comic book fans that already have a ticket bought in their minds before the movie is even released? Or the general audience member that has no idea what a multiverse is? What happens when they ask where this movie fits in the DCEU timeline or worse, when they give it a bad review because it doesn't line up well at all with Suicide Squad? It doesn't matter how obvious you indicate that it is an Elseworlds story, plenty of people are not going to get it and that's dollars down the drain for WB/DC right off the bat. You can be unfair and say that you don't care about this because you are a fan that gets the multiverse concept, but be prepared for the movie to be received at the box office the same way Watchmen was, with a number that is wholly disappointing compared to most successful comic book movies today. 

At the end of the day, Deadline reported this story and a number of trusted people ran with it so there's likely some truth to it and maybe it really is a serious plan for WB/DC, but you can't be surprised why people might not be receiving it so well at first glance. I'm at the point where I'll believe it's happening when the movie is fully cast and is entering principal photography and not a moment sooner......should that even happen.