Joker: The Movie About Batman’s Nemesis Banned?

In The People’s Joker, transgender filmmaker Vera Drew tells a fictional, DC-set version of her own story.

Over the course of the feature film, we thus get to know the iconic character as a battered boy who doesn’t feel comfortable in his own body. Later, the Joker, struggling with his sexual identity, tries to start a career as a comedian in Gotham City, where Batman has criminalized almost all public comedy. Then the budding clown must face the caped fascist…

The film is not only a low-budget film, but also a parody of the Batman universe, with many references to previous appearances of the Joker and other DC anecdotes.

Already in the trailer, Jared Leto and Joaquin Phoenix’s interpretations of the Joker are intended. It also says in black and white that neither DC Comics nor its parent company Warner Bros. Discovery has proven to work.

Nevertheless, The People’s Joker celebrated its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), currently underway in Canada. Although three more screenings were planned there, only one has taken place so far. Indeed, as reported by American press reviews, Vera Drew and her team withdrew the film from the festival due to rights issues.

The details behind this decision are not yet available. Of course, there are suspicions of DC Comics and Warner Bros. interference. for unauthorized use of their property. So far, the companies in question have not commented on the project.

Legal work or not?

But then, how did the film see the light of day and even be screened at a festival? In her project, Vera Drew relies, among other things, on the doctrine of “fair use” in the United States, which states that copyrighted material can be used in certain contexts for the purposes of criticism, commentary, reporting. Education or science.

This doctrine also includes, for example, parodies that must be very closely related to the original, otherwise they will be considered illegal satire. Vera Drew also notes that, except for footage containing licensed archival material, her feature film consists entirely of her recordings and animations, and that copyrighted names and trademarks are used only in an autobiographical context.

Note that the scenes from Joker (2019) with Joaquin Phoenix used in the previous edit were removed before the premiere.

Problems awaited the director

However, in the case of projects like The People’s Joker, there is still the question of whether they meet the requirements of fair use, which brings works of this genre under intense scrutiny.

So, ahead of the film’s world premiere, Vera Drew hinted that there might be problems with her film with a somewhat cryptic tweet:

“I have no idea what’s going on today and my team wants me to say nothing, of course, so I’ll stay vague… but whatever happens in the next few hours, I want you to know… if you’ve been waiting and wanted to watch our movie, you’ll soon be able to do so. Stay and stay with me. I need your help.“

It remains to be seen if The People’s Joker will ever see the light of day in its original form, or perhaps an adaptation… if not at all! To be continued.

Meanwhile, it is already confirmed that DC’s flagship villain will return in Todd Phillips’ sequel to the global hit Joker starring Joaquin Phoenix. Titled Joker: Folie À Deux, the sequel, which also stars Lady Gaga, will be presented as a musical and hit theaters on October 2, 2024. Check out its first teaser below: