Although Jared Leto will remain the standard DCEU Joker for Suicide Squad 2 and the Joker/Harley Quinn film, another actor will step into the role for the newly announced Joker origin movie. The announcement has caused an avalanche of speculation about possible casting, and a few key performers have already decided to throw their respective hats into the ring. In fact, The Walking Dead's Steven Ogg recently chatted with CinemaBlend's Nick Venable on behalf of the Season 7 Blu-ray release and expressed his own interest in taking on the role of the Clown Prince of Crime, saying:
It'd be fun. I mean, it seems to screw everyone up, whoever does it. They end up going a bit crazy, except if you look at Nicholson's Joker. But what I was reading, and I'd love to do it, is the younger, like 'how The Joker became The Joker' is what they're working on. So I'd assume it would be a younger person. But that type of character, there certainly would be a lot of interesting things to explore with him. I would love to do my own different take on it, on him. So yeah, if you're offering it to me, I'll take it.
Bringing Steven Ogg in as Mr. J feels like one of those casting decisions that arguably makes perfect sense, even if you didn't immediately think of it. In addition to his menacing role as Negan's right-hand man Simon on The Walking Dead (for which he was recently promoted to series regular), most fans likely know Ogg for his work as Trevor Phillips in Grand Theft Auto V. In that particular role, Ogg plays Phillips as a man completely unhinged; a guy who lives for violence and can explode in a burst of oddly charming insanity in the blink of an eye. Those are qualities that we look for in a Joker, and it looks like Ogg seems to think that he could pull it off if granted the opportunity.
Fans of the Grand Theft Auto games have already thrown this idea around. In fact, some GTA players cosplayed Ogg's Trevor Phillips as Gotham's least favorite clown, and the results are somewhat striking.
If you didn't think Steven Ogg could play Joker before, then that video is probably one of the most compelling pieces of evidence to convince you otherwise. He strikes an uncanny balance between creepy, hilarious, and terrifying as Trevor, and that's just his vocal performance; throw some white makeup on him, and you have a perfect recipe for Batman's arch nemesis.
Of course, the odds are certainly stacked against Steven Ogg if he wants to play Joker in the upcoming Todd Phillips movie. In that story, it sounds like the creative team behind the project is aiming for a younger take on the character, and at 43 years old, Ogg is only two years younger than current Joker Jared Leto. Then again, that film remains in the earliest stages of its development, so if they ultimately decide that Joker's origins can take place at age 43, nothing is stopping Ogg from stepping into the role.
In fact, the only thing that seems to have personally kept Steven Ogg from the role is the acknowledgment that it does something to the actors who take on the character. Between Heath Ledger's tragic death and Jared Leto's utterly insane on-set behavior while working on Suicide Squad, Ogg has recognized that playing Joker is not something that he would take lightly if given the chance. He's willing to take it if offered the gig, but he understands the weight and gravity of the role as well.
CinemaBlend will keep you posted with all of the latest and greatest Joker news as new information about the Clown Prince of Crime's silver screen future becomes available. Make sure to check out our movie premiere guide for more details related to this year's biggest theatrical releases, and catch Steven Ogg on The Walking Dead when the AMC zombie series returns on Sunday, October 22 at 9 p.m. ET. The Walking Dead: The Complete Seventh Season is out now, and it's jam-packed with commentaries, featurettes and other extras that the show's fans are going to go batty over.
