2024’s Most Anticipated Movie Villain Proves The DCU Needs Elseworlds

The DC Universe needs its new Elseworlds label, as proved by whom the most anticipated movie villain of 2024 is. As DC Studios co-CEOs, James Gunn and Peter Safran are in charge of charting the next ten years of upcoming DC movies, series, animation, and video games set in the DCU. While the duo will have plenty of work with all the announced projects for the DC Universe’s Chapter One — with even more movies and series kept secret for the moment — DC adaptations will not be limited to DCU-only offerings.

When revealing the initial slate of projects for the DCU Chapter One, Gunn announced that a new Elseworlds label would be used moving forward by DC. The Batman – Part II and Joker: Folie à Deux are some of the announced DC Elseworlds movies, which consist of all DC projects that will not exist as part of the new DCU’s canon. While that means that David Corenswet’s Man of Steel from Superman: Legacy interacting with Robert Pattinson’s Dark Knight from The Batman will not be possible, DC’s new Elseworlds tactic is great for the DCU, and the reveal of the most anticipated movie villain of 2024 is proof of that.

Related

All 33 DC Universe Characters Confirmed In Canon By James Gunn

Since the announcement of James Gunn and Peter Safran’s DC Universe in January 2023, many characters have been confirmed to join the new franchise.

Joker 2’s Harley Quinn Hype Shows The Benefit Of Adding Elseworlds Into The DCU

According to Fandango‘s 2024 Most Anticipated Movies Survey, Lady Gaga’s debut as Harley Quinn in Joker: Folie à Deux is the most anticipated new movie performance of the year, with Joaquin Phoenix’s return as the Joker interestingly landing a step below her in the Most Anticipated Villains section. The excitement over Gaga’s debut as Harley Quinn shows just how much the Elseworlds label can help the DCU. Gaga is an incredible actress, and her first foray into superhero territory attracting so much interest makes sense.

Related

Joker: Folie À Deux – Release Date, Cast & Everything We Know

Though it’s a long way from release, Joker: Folie à Deux is well into production, has a star-studded cast, and double the budget of its predecessor.

Gaga joining Joker: Folie à Deux as Harley Quinn was a match made in heaven, as the DC movie is taking a shocking musical route, which suits Gaga’s talents, as she is one of the world’s most famous singers. That other side of the actress brings new eyes into the project, attracting interest from people who usually do not particularly care for superhero projects. While exciting, Gaga’s casting would have been hard to pull off in the main DCU, and as Joker: Folie à Deux‘s possible success will tie into the new DCU public perception moving forward, having Elseworlds projects that allow DC to experiment is beneficial to the franchise.

Lady Gaga’s Harley Quinn Casting Proves Joker Couldn’t Have Been In The Main DCU

Gaga would likely not have played Harley Quinn if Joker: Folie à Deux was part of the new DCU. As an in-demand singer and an actress who is constantly pursuing awards buzz with her films, Gaga tying herself to a franchise like the DCU, which would need her to play Harley Quinn for multiple projects over the years, would not have worked with her schedule. Adding to that, Margot Robbie will likely continue playing Harley Quinn, given how multiple The Suicide Squad actors are returning in the DCU, and so there would be no space for Gaga, nixing what is one of the most anticipated movie roles of 2024.