2019 Movie Theories That Could Change Everything

The world just can’t seem to get enough of the Joker , Batman’s zaniest, most depraved villain. From Heath Ledger’s grimy goblin of chaos to Jared Leto’s ghoul of the nightclub scene, people find something enduringly compelling about Gotham City’s Clown Prince of Crime — so much so that 2019 will see a Joker solo movie, in which Joaquin Phoenix is set to step into the madman’s purple slacks.

But what if Phoenix is playing a Joker that isn’t our Joker? This is a theory sprung from two distinct facts revealed recently: this Joker will be a man known as “Arthur Fleck,” a name never before ascribed to the character, and the film is set in the 1980s, with Bruce Wayne still a child. This would necessitate a Joker that, once Bruce has grown up to assume the mantle of Batman, is decades older than him.

Though that is a possibility, it has been suggested that perhaps Arthur Fleck will be a sort of proto-Joker who will go on to inspire the villain we know. This would take the character to new heights, making him a constant that haunts Bruce Wayne from, potentially, birth until death. Given how far the Joker has been willing to go, conceiving of him as a fear played by more than one person isn’t too far-fetched — it’s exactly in line with his extreme tactics.