Joker and Harley Quinn Movie In the Works

Glenn Ficarra and John Requa, the directors and executive producers of NBC drama ‘This Is Us’ and directors of 2011 Steve Carell and Ryan Gosling comedy Crazy, Stupid, Love, are in final negotiations to write and direct an untitled Warner Bros and DC project based on iconic Batman Universe villains The Joker and Harley Quinn.

The Hollywood Reporter’s insiders have told the magazine that the plan is to have this feature released after the Suicide Squad sequel (which is yet to find a director), and the studio are moving quickly to put the film into development with actor-holding deals coming to an end in the not-to-distant future.

Jared Leto’s Joker is said to have a more prominent role in the Suicide Squad sequel, and will reprise his role as the iconic character in this film, with Margot Robbie also reprising her role as Joker’s long-term comic book muse Harley Quinn.

This follows the revelation that Warner Bros and DC are set to recast The Joker for a standalone origins film from Todd Phillips and Martin Scorsese.

Jared Leto’s take on The Joker was divisive to say the least, while Harley Quinn’s turn as Harley Quinn was widely praised and made a mainstream star out of its young actress. A standalone Joker/Quinn movie would have to confront issues regarding the pair’s portrayal in David Ayer’s Suicide Squad if it was to be successful, with the general consensus leaning towards their relationship being both unfaithful to their comic book origins and dangerous representations for younger viewers to be influenced by.

The upcoming movie, which is in its earliest stages of development and has yet to receive an official title or release date, has been described as “When Harry Met Sally on benzedrine”.

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