Update: Alec Baldwin says that he’s dropped out of the Joker movie

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

Update: Well, that was short-lived. Just days after it was reported that Alec Baldwin had joined the cast of JOKER as Thomas Wayne, the actor told USA Today that he's "no longer doing that movie," adding that he's "sure there are 25 guys who can play that part." As for why Baldwin dropped out, the actor pointed to scheduling issues as the reason. Before confirming that he was no longer involved with the project, Alec Baldwin also took to Twitter earlier today to deny that he would be playing the Donald Trump-esque role.

Original article follows.

I don't even know what to make of the upcoming JOKER movie at this point, but the cast is certainly shaping up to be something quite interesting. Deadline has learned that Alec Baldwin (MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – FALLOUT) has joined the cast of JOKER as Thomas Wayne, who, as we know, is the father of Bruce Wayne, the man who will become Batman.

THR added a few more details on the role, including that sources have said "that the script paints Thomas Wayne as a cheesy and tanned businessman who is more in the mold of a 1980s Donald Trump." That's certainly a role which Alec Baldwin has experience with as he's played Donald Trump on Saturday Night Live for the past few years, even recently scoring another Emmy Award nomination for his work. Alec Baldwin will be joining Joaquin Phoenix (YOU WERE NEVER REALLY HERE) in the film, as well as Robert De Niro (THE IRISHMAN), Frances Conroy (American Horror Story), Marc Maron (Glow), and Zazie Beetz (DEADPOOL 2 ). Production is set to get underway on September 10th on what the studio has described as an "exploration of a man disregarded by society [that] is not only a gritty character study, but also a broader cautionary tale."

Joaquin Phoenix will be playing the Joker in the film, with Robert De Niro taking on the role of a talk show host who is somehow instrumental in the Joker’s origin, Marc Maron as an agent on De Niro’s talk show who plays a part in booking Phoenix’s character, Frances Conroy as the Joker's mother, and Zazie Beetz as a single mother who catches the interest of the man who will become the Clown Prince of Crime.

JOKER will hit theaters on October 4, 2019.