Birds of Prey (And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) has paved the way for a Joker recast in the DC Extended Universe. Despite being a major player in 2016’s Suicide Squad, which is the predecessor to Birds of Prey, the Clown Prince of Crime was nowhere to be seen in the latter. His absence, while expected, may have wider implications than once thought. That’s especially true in regards to who will play the character and how he will appear on screen in the DCEU going forward.

The love story between Harley Quinn and the Joker was first introduced in Suicide Squad. Their origin was highlighted in a series of flashbacks and their relationship did get some attention. Although the Joker was relegated to merely a supporting character, he was immensely important in Harley’s characterization. Sometime between this film and Birds of Prey however, the two split up, which led to her “emancipation” from him and the life they had together. The character now stands on her own, very much setting up Harley’s future in the DCEU.

Reactions, generally speaking, were fairly negative to Jared Leto, his interpretation of Mr. J, and Suicide Squad as a whole. The film is still DCEU canon, however, this response coupled with creative strife between Leto and Warner Bros. all but confirms that his character will not return to the big screen. Going into the movie, fans were unsure of what to expect. Luckily, Birds of Prey was not only better than Suicide Squad, but also subtly set up a Joker recast.

Why Joker Wasn’t In Birds of Prey

While he is mentioned quite often and is the driving force behind why Harley Quinn is in the situation that she is, the Joker is not in Birds of Prey. Aside from the small cartoon section at the beginning of the film, which conveniently acts as further character exploration for Harley on her own, the Jester of Genocide only appears in name, flashbacks where we don’t see his face, and as a crude drawing on her wall made for target practice. Taking into account the plot of the film, it is fairly obvious why Joker wasn’t a major player in Birds of Prey.

The answer is simple; there is no place for him in the movie. The narrative of female empowerment that Birds of Prey carries is not necessarily the environment for a homicidal, abusive, manipulative clown to reside. Theoretically, he could have made a decent villain for the crew of femme fatales, but Roman Sionis filled that role already, and better allows for a focus on Harley’s journey without Mr. J, which is rather the point of it all. Therefore, Joker’s inclusion would not fit the narrative, not to mention the version currently in DCEU canon is not necessarily a fan favorite as it is. His exclusion was best for all parties involved.

How Birds of Prey Sets Up A New Joker

Though it is very quick, Birds of Prey manages to set up a new Joker despite never showing off his face apart from in drawings and animated representations. To kick off the film, there is a cartoon portion that recalls Harley’s life up to this point. Included in the montage is her meeting Mr. J for the first time. The character is seen with a more comic-accurate look, adopting the iconic purple suit and traditional green hairstyle. This is especially jarring when he is alongside Harley later in the scene, who is still wearing her Suicide Squad costume and makeup.

The plot thickens in live-action, which further adds to the theory that a new Joker is on the way. On Harley’s wall is a target full of knives, with a drawing of her former lover in the center. Although it is just his head, it does not resemble Leto in any way. It has eyebrows, a much pointier chin, no face tattoos, and the typical Joker hairstyle. It was as if she was in love with a totally different man, not like the one from the previous film in any way other than name and relationship to her. The final nail in the coffin of Jared Leto’s Joker are Birds of Prey’s flashback sequences, which include footage from Suicide Squad and one of her and Joker tattooing a goon’s face. The film never shows us the Joker’s face, however, even when it could have re-used and re-purposed footage from Suicide Squad if Leto wasn’t available to return himself. This is the strongest sign yet that the DCEU has no plans for Leto’s Joker to return, even if the character himself could still be around.

Why A Joker Recast Would Be Good For The DCEU

It is clear that Warner Bros. wants to revise the DCEU take on the Joker, especially looking at the evidence Birds of Prey offered up. While a bold, modern look and presentation was refreshing to an extent, Jared Leto’s performance was not what many wanted out of the character. Not to mention the look was highly controversial, as this re-imagining of the Clown Prince of Crime was almost too different from the source material. It is often one of the talking points as to why the film under-performed critically. Fans rejected it because it wasn’t “Joker enough” for them, verbally or visually.

Following the success of the 2019 Joker standalone film, it is clear that the character itself is not the issue. Joaquin Phoenix’s Joker was quite the departure from his predecessors, but his performance worked. Even if the suit wasn’t purple and he didn’t fall into a vat of chemicals by the time the credits rolled, fans caught on thanks primarily to his haunting performance. Should Warner Bros. introduce a new Joker to the DCEU, most likely it will fall in line much closer to the comics, in terms of his mannerisms and wardrobe, and Birds of Prey has now very much set the stage for this.

Bringing such a popular character back into the fold in a way that will satisfy fans is one more step that needs to be taken for the DCEU to regain its footing. It has done well with its past few offerings, and there is a good amount of buzz around the DC movies releasing after Birds of Prey, but as it stands their main universe has some work to do. Fixing up one of DC’s most prolific villains could do them plenty of favors, and put their Gotham City-based stories back on track. Birds of Prey has laid the groundwork for a new, recast Joker to make his way into this specific DC universe, now it is just a matter of time before audiences find out if Warner Bros. plans to follow through.

Next: How Birds of Prey Sets Up The Suicide Squad

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