It's been rumored for a while now, but today we have confirmation via THR that none other than Joaquin Phoenix will be playing The Joker in Warner Bros. upcoming JOKER spin-off flick, produced by Martin Scorcese and written and directed by Todd Phillips (THE HANGOVER). Phoenix recently finalized his deal to star as Batman's iconic arch-nemesis in this villain origin story, which will be happening along with DC's recent announced Jared Leto JOKER spin-off. That's a whole hell of a lot of Joker! Not that I'm complaining.
Phillips co-wrote the script with Scott Silver, which is being described as:
An exploration of a man disregarded by society [that] is not only a gritty character study but also a broader cautionary tale.
The project's budget is in the $55 million range, and the stand-alone is meant to be darker and more experimental in tone and content, which is described as being akin to a crime drama. The Joker origin stand-alone is produced by Emma Tillinger Koskoff (THE WOLF OF WALL STREET) and Richard Baratta is an executive producer. Warners has yet to stake out a release date but there's a chance that the movie will be ready for release as early as late 2019. After all, the standalone origin story will begin shooting in September in New York.
Now, I don't know about you, but I'm looking forward to seeing Phoenix's Joker up on the big screen much more than (another) go at Jared Leto's Joker. Nothing against Leto's Joker. After all, just like many of the rest of you guys out there, I originally thought Leto's Joker was going to be a complete bomb. But the man pulled off one of the only positive aspects of that SUICIDE SQUAD movie.
Here's hoping for another classic representation of the clown prince of crime!