The Joker may be the most iconic villain in all of fiction – but how many movies has he appeared in, and does he have any other solo films?
“Wait ’til they get a load of me,” a cackling, cheek-stretched Jack Nicholson once said – and how apt that was, because the Clown Prince of Crime may be the most prolific antagonist in all of pop culture.
Whether it’s Mark Hamill’s indelible vocal performance in the original animated series, Zach Galifianakis’ LEGO-shaped turn, Troy Baker’s stewardship of laughter in Batman: Arkham Origins, or Heath Ledger’s legendary appearance in The Dark Knight, the spectrum of the character’s portrayal is wide, colorful, and divisive.
Joaquin Phoenix’s Joker, the 2019 billion-busting smash hit directed by Todd Phillips, recently dropped on Netflix. With audiences revisiting it and discovering the film for the first time, you may be curious to know how many Joker movies there are – well, we’re going to go through them all, “one by one.”
How many Joker movies are there?
There are two Joker movies: 2019’s Joker and Joker: Folie à Deux, which will be released in cinemas on October 4, 2024.
The first film stars Joaquin Phoenix as Arthur Fleck, a mentally unstable loner and sign-twirling street clown who inadvertently sparks a violent uprising against Gotham City’s elite as he descends into insanity.
Unlike other adaptations (excluding 1989’s Batman), Joker is notable for the fact that it’s an origin for a character that’s defined (in the eyes of some fans) by his lack of backstory.
Its ambiguous ending raised a few questions about the verity of the movie’s events, especially since Arthur was already an unreliable lens to view the world. However, it seems we’ll get some answers in Joker: Folie à Deux (Joker 2, for the normies), a musical sequel that’ll see Arthur meeting his other half: Dr. Harleen Quinzel (Lady Gaga), aka Harley Quinn, a psychiatrist assigned to treat him in Arkham Asylum.
How many movies has the Joker appeared in?
The Joker has appeared in seven live-action movies and 32 animated films.
We’ve listed each live-action project below and a photo of the Joker in each one.
Batman: The Movie
Year: 1966
Actor: Cesar Romero
Batman
Year: 1989
Actor: Jack Nicholson
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The Dark Knight
Year: 2008
Actor: Heath Ledger
Suicide Squad
Year: 2016
Actor: Jared Leto
Joker
Year: 2019
Actor: Joaquin Phoenix
Zack Snyder’s Justice League
Year: 2021
Actor: Jared Leto
The Batman
Year: 2022
Actor: Barry Keoghan
Below you’ll also find a list of every animated movie featuring the Joker:
- Batman: Mask of the Phantasm (1993)
- Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker (2000)
- Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths (2010)
- Batman: Under the Red Hood (2010)
- DC Super Friends: The Joker’s Playhouse (2010)
- The Dark Knight Returns (2012–2013)
- Lego Batman: The Movie – DC Super Heroes Unite (2013)
- Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox (2013)
- Son of Batman (2014)
- Batman: Assault on Arkham (2014)
- Lego DC Comics: Batman Be-Leaguered (2014).
- Batman Unlimited: Monster Mayhem (2015)
- Batman Unlimited: Mechs vs. Mutants (2016)
- DC Super Friends (2015)
- Lego DC Comics Super Heroes: Justice League – Attack of the Legion of Doom (2015)
- Lego DC Comics Super Heroes: Justice League – Gotham City Breakout (2016)
- Batman: The Killing Joke (2016)
- Batman: Return of the Caped Crusaders (2016)
- Batman vs. Two-Face (2017)
- The Lego Batman Movie (2017)
- DC Super Heroes vs. Eagle Talon (2017)
- Scooby-Doo! & Batman: The Brave and the Bold (2018)
- Teen Titans Go! To the Movies (2018)
- Lego DC Comics Super Heroes: The Flash (2018)
- Batman Ninja (2018)
- Batman vs. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2019)
- Batman: Hush (2019)
- Batman: The Long Halloween (2021)
- Injustice (2021)
- Scooby-Doo! and Krypto, Too! (2023)
- Merry Little Batman (2023)
Joker is streaming on Netflix now. You can find out more about its sequel here.
