Yes, Joker is a DC movie. The 2019 film adapts the DC Comics character of the same name, was produced by Warner Bros. Pictures with DC Films, and was distributed by Warner Bros. It simply sits outside the shared continuity that connects most other DC releases. Anyone asking whether Joker is a DC movie is usually tripping over that distinction rather than the studio credits.
What makes Joker a DC movie
Membership in the DC catalog comes down to three things: where the characters come from, who owns them, and who made the film. Joker checks all three.
- Source material: the Joker is a DC Comics character who first appeared in Batman #1 in 1940.
- Production: the film was made by Warner Bros. Pictures in association with DC Films and Village Roadshow Pictures.
- Ownership: DC Comics is a Warner Bros. Discovery company, so a Warner Bros. release built on DC characters stays inside the same corporate family.
- Creative team: Todd Phillips directed and co-wrote the script, with Joaquin Phoenix playing Arthur Fleck.
Why people assume it is not DC
Two things cause the confusion. First, Joker looks and behaves like a character study rather than a superhero film, with no capes, no team-ups, and no world-ending threat. Second, it does not connect to the films that share a timeline, such as Man of Steel, Wonder Woman, or Justice League. A movie can be DC without being part of the group.
Is Joker part of the DC Extended Universe?
No. Joker is a standalone story with its own version of Gotham City and its own origin for the character. DC places projects like this under the Elseworlds label, a term the publisher has used since the late 1980s for stories set outside main continuity. The distinction is about continuity, not ownership. Being outside the shared timeline does not make Joker any less of a DC film.
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The sequel fits the same pattern
Joker: Folie à Deux arrived in 2024 with the same director, the same lead actor, and the same Elseworlds status. It continues the story from the first film and is likewise a DC production. It is separate from the newer DC Studios slate that began with Superman in 2025.
Every movie Joker in DC films
- Cesar Romero in Batman (1966)
- Jack Nicholson in Batman (1989)
- Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight (2008)
- Jared Leto in Suicide Squad (2016) and Zack Snyder's Justice League (2021)
- Joaquin Phoenix in Joker (2019) and Joker: Folie à Deux (2024)
Each performance is a different take on the same DC-owned character, which is why the role keeps returning across decades and separate storylines.
How to verify it in a minute
- Watch the opening credits for the DC logo alongside the Warner Bros. shield.
- Check the studio's official film page, which lists DC as a production partner.
- Look at the writing credits on any film database, where DC Comics appears as the source of the characters.
Short version: Joker is a DC movie, produced by DC's parent studio, built from DC characters, and deliberately kept apart from the shared DC timeline.