A Horror Movie Icon Wants To Play The Joker In James Gunn's DC Universe – And He's Perfect

When "Terrifier 2" arrived in 2022, it signaled the arrival of a new horror star. Though Art the Clown, the homicidal harlequin at the center of the film, had already appeared in a couple short films and 2016's "Terrifier," it wasn't until the sequel arrived and gained notoriety for its sheer barbarity that Art began to truly permeate pop culture. Now, with "Terrifier 3" set to debut having already caused walkouts during its opening scene, it looks as though Art is well on his way to becoming this generation's slasher superstar.

Much of the cultural caché accumulated by this particular slasher killer is down to actor David Howard Thornton, the man who has played Art since the character's solo film debut in 2016. After landing the gig due to some nasty improv during his audition, Thornton went on to define Art as a voiceless, unstoppable killing machine with a grim sense of humor that turned him into a sort of homicidal Charlie Chaplin figure. Art's depraved antics across the "Terrifier" movies are made somehow even more upsetting due to the character's cheeky trickster energy, with the unhinged clown clearly delighting in every bit of viscera he manages to extract from his victims.

When "Terrifier 3" hits, propelled by word-of-mouth surrounding its sickening opening scene, no doubt Thornton's star will continue to rise. Which, for the actor, is a good thing, as it seems he harbors lofty ambitions to one day bring his uniquely macabre sense of humor to the burgeoning DC Universe by playing Batman's greatest foe, The Joker.

Following the collapse of the DC Extended Universe, or DCEU, James Gunn and producer Peter Safran are now the head honchos over at the newly-formed DC Studios. Gunn himself is helming the upcoming "Superman" movie, which will herald the beginning of his DC Universe, a shared continuity that resets the erstwhile DCEU and begins an entirely new chapter in DC and Warner Bros.' attempt to match Marvel's success. We already know part of this new slate of movies, dubbed the "Gods and Monsters" saga, will include a "Brave and the Bold" movie, which is set to introduce a new Batman into the continuity. All of which means that, despite Matt Reeves' "Epic Crime Saga" Batman films featuring Barry Keoghan's take on the Clown Prince of Crime, there's plenty of scope for a new Joker to make an appearance in this newly-established shared universe.

With that in mind, it seems David Howard Thornton has his sights set on portraying the legendary villain in Gunn's new shared universe. Speaking to GamesRadar+, the actor revealed that The Joker is his "favorite villain of all time," and a character who he would "love to play [...] one day." He continued, "Hopefully someone like James Gunn gives me the opportunity to tackle that character, because I would like to do a lot of fun things with him."

If Thornton's performance in the "Terrifier" movies is anything to go by, his version of the Joker would radiate a kind of dark and perverse humor to accompany whatever heinous deeds he commits. This is, of course, a major aspect of the Joker character, but so far, none of the on-screen Jokers have been anywhere near as dark and disturbing as Thornton's Art the Clown. That's not to say the actor would do exactly the same thing were he to ever play the Joker, but a live-action version of the villain that's genuinely frightening is a compelling thought.

Back when Christopher Nolan was developing "The Dark Knight," which famously starred Heath Ledger as the Joker, concept art was revealed showing a truly frightening design for the character. This particular concept featured a version of the Joker with even more discernible scarring and a pallid visage that had more in common with Michael Myers than anything else. Ever since, I've been hoping for a more horror-inspired on-screen version of Joker to emerge, and if Gunn goes in that direction, Thornton might actually be worth considering, based on his performance as Art.

If you're wondering how Thornton would transition from the silent Art the Clown to the famously verbose Batman rogue, you can see the actor actually portraying a version of the Joker in a "Nightwing" YouTube series. His Joker voice sounds quite a lot like Mark Hamill's legendary take on the character from "Batman: The Animated Series," but there's certainly more menace to Thornton's tone. Put the man in the kind of makeup shown in those Nolan concept designs, and I think you might have the basis of a truly unique and genuinely disturbing take on the character.

Meanwhile, Barry Keoghan is set to portray the Joker in Matt Reeves' "Batman" movies, and based on his deleted scene from 2022's "The Batman," it seems the Irish actor will be delivering a similarly dark take on the character, so we'll have to wait and see which direction James Gunn takes his universe's Joker.