Phillips’ Joker origin film said to paint villain as a failed ’80s comedian

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

According to The Wrap, Todd Phillips' forthcoming "Joker" origin film will paint the iconic Batman villain as a failed 1980s comedian who transforms into the Jester of Genocide after bombing in front of a live audience, and the rest of his day going horribly wrong. Now, it's imporant that you take the following information with a grain of salt, as it is only heresay at this time.

If that setup sounds familiar, that's because it very much falls in line with what transpired in Alan Moore's controversial 1988 graphic novel The Killing Joke. The story goes that while struggling to feed his family, a comedian dressed as the leader of The Red Hood gang is double crossed by the very men who hired him, and by extension, accidentally plunges head-first into a vat of churning chemicals. As the vicious liquids seep into his pores, the man begins to change as his sanity is stripped away, leaving him in a perpetual state of laughter and with a thirst to commit unyielding violence.

Should this tidbit from The Wrap prove to be true, it's no wonder that Martin Scorsese, who directed the 1982 crime comedy THE KING OF COMEDY starring Robert DeNiro as a down-and-out comedian, has boarded the project as its producer. There's also some birds fluttering around Hollywood who are singing a tune that describes Joaquin Phoenix as being in-line to star as Gotham's Clown Prince of Crime, though nothing has been officially announced just yet.

For now, the JOKER project is eyeing a mid- to late-2018 production start, though some close to the project have stated that this window could be delayed, on account of Phillips and 8 MILE scribe Scott Silver prepping some rewrites for the script. If all goes according to plan, the JOKER film is expected to become a part of DC's yet-to-be-announced new banner that exists outside of the already established (but in serious trouble) banner. My best advice is to think of those films as "Elseworlds" projects, meaning that the stories told through the new label hold now bearing on the DCEU proper. Trust me, it will help you sleep better at night.

If you ask me, the idea of Phillips' JOKER film taking cues from the "failed comedian" aspect of the villain's story makes total sense. After all, with enough passion for the sordid tale, we could be looking at a completely different kind of Batman film – one where the Joker is framed as a man who took a wrong turn at Albuquerque while trying to provide for his family. I've seen it work before, and it could definitely work here as well. In fact, I hope this rumor proves to be true.

What do you think of the movie going in this direction? Let us know in the comments section below!