If you are a fan of the DC comics, you are probably just one of the many people who are frustrated by DC’s inability to produce these heroes on the big screen. This frustration only continues to grow after Suicide Squad, the superhero film in which it’s unconventional use of supervillains as superheroes made it look promising, flops with critics. While DC can say that "Suicide Squad" was a box office success (it broke the record for the largest opening weekend in August), they are once again behind Marvel in the 8-ball when it comes to making a quality superhero film.
But why was Suicide Squad unsuccessful despite a promising storyline with A-list stars? (Margot Robbie and Will Smith) headlining the movie? According to Odyssey Online’s own film critic Nate Adams, “Not enough Jared Leto”. Leto portrayed the Joker, perhaps the most recognizable supervillain in all comic books. It was somewhat shocking to Adams that the Joker didn’t have a bigger part, as he stated “I have never seen a character, that is of such importance, be so underutilized…Joker is one of the most highly regarded baddies of all time, yet director David Ayers chose to bench him on the sidelines”. It’s mistakes like the lack of Joker in the film that keeps pushing DC behind Marvel. Why not have your heroes fight a villain who people want to see instead of a villain that even the most knowledgeable DC fans wouldn’t know? If DC keeps making massive mistakes like this in their next slate of films, they might want to concede the superhero film game to Marvel.
There is one thing that DC can do that can make up for their mistake in "Suicide Squad" and maybe even give them a chance to catch up to Marvel. DC needs to seriously consider producing a film based solely on the Joker.
Crazy idea? Hear me out on this one.
"Suicide Squad" critics did praise the performance of Jared Leto as the Joker when they did see him. I guarantee that fans are still going to see "Suicide Squad" because they want to see this character. And with the Joker playing such an influential role in the world of DC comics, why not make a movie that lets the Joker run wild. Hell, hire Quentin Tarantino as your director and bring a "Pulp Fiction" like structure to the story line. You wouldn’t need to have a lot of superheroes to appear in the movie (less Ben Affleck might be better actually) because of the Joker’s appeal to fans and Tarantino’s prodigy. This is a movie concept that only DC could really pull off as Marvel doesn’t have a villain on par with the Joker. This would allow DC to pull ahead of Marvel in one category when it comes to producing superhero films. If DC did this and made it right, a Joker movie could beat most of the Marvel superhero films in overall box office totals. And if you’re a DC executive, that’s something you desperately need after the critical flop of "Suicide Squad."
