Batman boasts the best rogues' gallery of villains in comic books, and the major ones each deserve their own Joker-esque movie spotlights. There are lots of great villains running around in both the DC and Marvel universes, but when it comes a single hero's line-up of foes, it's hard to compete with Batman. The line-up of supervillains either native to or that have spent lots of time menacing Gotham City is extensive and formidable, and consists of some truly iconic evildoers.
However, as popular as many of these villains are, the only one to ever receive their own movie is The Joker, which came in 2019 and ended up winning star Joaquin Phoenix an Oscar for his work as The Clown Prince of Crime. While Joker is definitely Batman's signature nemesis, he's far from the only Batman villain interesting enough to warrant their own solo vehicle, perhaps one revealing their origin story or delving into what makes them tick and drives them to do the dastardly things that they do.
With the market for comic book-based product bigger than its ever been, the time is right for more of Gotham's leading bad guys and gals to get their own moment in the movie sun. Or perhaps more appropriately, their time under a shadowy spotlight.
Why Every Major Batman Villain Should Have Their Joker Film
Ever since superhero movies truly began to become a box office juggernaut in the early 2000s, even before the MCU took things to even bigger heights of profitability, industry prognosticators and doomsayers alike have been trying to predict when the bubble would burst. Surely, there had to be a limit to how many Marvel and DC-based films the moviegoing public would devour before they got full. Yet, outside of a few rare misfires, the market for comic book movies has remained stable, even when the characters involved, such as Guardians of the Galaxy and Shazam!, are far from household names.
That's why the financial failure of Joss Whedon's Justice League was so shocking, as more often than not whatever Marvel or DC puts their stamp on ends up being highly profitable, even divisive product like Batman V Superman and Suicide Squad. With Joker proving that movies focused solely on supervillains can excel both critically and commercially if made well, even despite an R-rating, now is the time for DC to strike while the iron is hot and give the same treatment to other Bat-villains.
Even if they're all standalone stories like that one, without a Batman running around, a more realistic, gritty Joker-style take on the violent escapades that molded people like Penguin, Riddler, Two-Face, Scarecrow, Bane, or Poison Ivy could all be great if placed in the right creative hands. Catwoman could even get her own anti-hero star vehicle ala Harley Quinn, hopefully washing away the taste of the Razzie-winning Catwoman movie starring Halle Berry. Cast actors the quality of Phoenix in the lead, hire a top-notch director, and watch the money roll in.