The People’s Joker: Comic book satire pulled from TIFF by Warner Bros. due to copyright infringement

In an interesting (although unsurprising) turn of events, a film showcased at only one screening during the Toronto International Film Festival has been pulled Wednesday morning due to rights issues and has had future screenings canceled. The film in question is called The People’s Joker, which uses many references and likenesses to the famous DC villain, The Joker, as well as references and callbacks to past Batman-related movies and properties. The film comes from director, Vera Drew, and is a satire on the comic book character where the Joker’s transformation journey is turned into a transgender journey.

According to That Shelf, the movie was pulled because Warner Bros had apparently served a cease and desist to both TIFF and the filmmakers due to copyright infringement. Vera Drew is no stranger to trippy, plucky humor, having worked with Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job! comedians Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim on the equally abstract films, Our Bodies, On Cinema, and I love David. TIFF had made an official, albeit brief, announcement on the matter, saying,

“The filmmaker has withdrawn this film due to rights issues. We apologize for any inconvenience. Current ticket holders will receive an email from TIFF Customer Relations with information on their purchase.”

This move probably shouldn’t have been a surprise since the trailer for the film proudly states it is “an illegal comic book movie about a transgender clown named Joker.” The film was compiled with the contribution of over 100 artists, including Bob Odenkirk. They all independently composed pieces of the movie during the COVID pandemic then Drew cobbled them together like a puzzle through special effects. There was no apparent intent to reframe the trademarked properties as they are explicitly depicted. Drew has not made an official statement, but she has retweeted the following tweet that states the film was hit with a cease and desist from Warner Bros:

The film will not be screened for the TIFF judges. However, since it did play at the Midnight Madness segment of the festival, it is still eligible for the People’s Choice Midnight Madness award. Should it win, it remains to be seen what will happen to it.