Actress Kristen Stewart has responded to a fan campaign to cast her as The Joker. Stewart began her career starring in a string of films as a child and teen actor, before breaking into superstardom with her role as Bella Swan in The Twilight Saga. Based on the books by Stephanie Meyer, the vampire romance series catapulted Stewart into the limelight, alongside her co-star, Robert Pattinson, who played Edward Cullen. The Twilight Saga ended in 2012, and both actors set off to work on drastically different material, seeking meatier and more challenging roles since hanging up the (non-existent) fangs.
Stewart has since worked in a diverse arena of projects, from smaller, indie fare, to big studio franchise work, including Camp X-Ray, American Ultra, Charlie's Angels, Personal Shopper, Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk, Underwater, Seberg, and now as Princess Diana in Spencer. Pattinson took a similar route, although mostly avoided any type of big-studio projects until now. From indie hits like Good Time to The Lost City of Z to High Life to The Lighthouse and The King, Pattinson worked diligently to build up his reputation as an actor before taking on Christopher Nolan's Tenet and now suiting up for Matt Reeves in The Batman.
Recently, an online fan campaign was started to get Stewart to take on the infamous role of DC's The Joker, potentially reuniting her with her Twilight co-star, Robert Pattinson's Batman. In an interview with Variety, Stewart commented on the campaign, saying that she loved the "energy behind that," but was apprehensive to agree to such an endeavor off the top, suggesting that she'd rather find "something new" rather than "traipse over" the work that's already been done with the character. She went on to say, "...but I love that gusto. Let’s figure something else out. I’m totally down to play a freaky, scary person.” While Stewart didn't give a definitive "no" to playing The Joker at some point, she wasn't exactly enthused about the prospect, saying “Not ‘no,’ but not the most stoked I’ve ever been. Let’s do something new.”
The Joker has been played by many actors throughout Hollywood since his creation. His first live-action appearance was in the Batman TV show in the '60s, played by Cesar Romero. The next incarnation was by Jack Nicholson in Tim Burton's 1989 Batman film. Heath Ledger posthumously won an Oscar for his portrayal of the Clown Prince of Crime in Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight. Jared Leto played a newer version set in the DCEU for David Ayer's Suicide Squad and Zack Snyder's Justice League, while the latest portrayal came from Joaquin Phoenix in Todd Phillips' Joker. Star Wars actor Mark Hamill has also voiced the character in multiple animated Batman and DC projects for decades. Thus far, a female Joker has not been portrayed, although his counterpart and partner-in-crime, Harley Quinn, has been played by Margot Robbie in multiple films.
Stewart's lack of enthusiasm in portraying The Joker is likely due to the fact that she's avoided playing gimmick roles for the most part. With the constant appeal and controversy over gender-swapped roles, including calls for a female James Bond, the rationale and necessity has started to be called into question as well. James Bond actor Daniel Craig recently said that "there should simply be better parts for women and actors of color," rather than gender-swapping for the sake of gender-swapping. He elaborated that there "should be a part just as good as James Bond, but for a woman," a sentiment that Kristen Stewart seems to echo here for The Joker. While that doesn't mean there could never be a female Joker, for Stewart, it appears she'd rather do something more original.
Source: Variety