Nicholas Hoult plays the DC Universe’s first major supervillain on the big screen with Lex Luthor, and he’s already looking ahead to potential team-ups with other bad guys. In an interview with ComicBook ahead of Superman‘s debut on July 11th, Hoult said that he is excited to meet the DCU’s version of Joker, and to see what kind of trouble they can cause together. This wasn’t a spontaneous answer, either — Hoult got the idea while reading DC Comics in preparation to play Luthor. Luthor and the Joker have crossed paths plenty of times, with many different results. Bringing them together on the big screen in a shared universe like this would be a great way to put a new spin on villains who are already familiar to mainstream audiences.
“One of the comics I read in the lead up to this was a link up between Lex and Joker,” Hoult explained during a set visit with ComicBook. “The combination of those two together was really fun to read, so perhaps if we are lucky and get to keep making movies, that’s something I’d like to see combined there.”
In many ways, Luthor and Joker seem like opposites with very little in common — one is a ruthless, calculating businessman obsessed with his public image and his legacy, while the other is an unstable costumed killer with no regard for his own safety or comfort. However, they are perfectly aligned when it comes to their relationships with their respective nemeses. For both villains, the fight is personal and philosophical. Luthor and Joker want to stop Superman and Batman to from being symbols of peace and order, not just to get them out of their ways.
Team-ups like these are also fun as the audience is forced to try and discern which villain is double-crossing the other at any given time. Neither Luthor nor Joker can be trusted fully, and both are too crafty to trust the other. Each typically brings a handful of contingency plans to the table for any team-up, and the story becomes a cascade of fake-outs as they both try to leave the other holding the bag.
It’s hard to guess which comics Hoult may have read that brought Luthor and the Joker together, but there have been several in recent years that are worth checking out. Early in the DC Rebirth event, Luthor formed a new Legion of Doom and briefly recruited Joker to join it. That story can be found in Justice League Volume 4 by writer James Tynion IV and artist Guillem March. It’s particularly interesting as the two villains spend time together with little intervention from the heroes, and even their double-crosses wind up serving each others’ best interests at times.
Of course, we’re getting way ahead of ourselves imagining a Joker appearance in the DCU. The franchise is just about to hit the big screen for the very first time with Superman premiering on Friday, July 11th. Tickets are on sale now.
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