Joaquin Phoenix ‘agrees’ to play The Joker in Todd Phillips’ DC origins movie and people are OK with it
The Clown Prince Of Crime is no stranger to a makeover, having been drawn in a variety of way across his stretch in the DC print universe, and played be several different actors on both the big and small screens.
And it looks as though fans will once-again see a new and very different side to The Joker, as Joaquin Phoenix is said to be in talks to play the character in Todd Phillips’ new movie.
The Gladiator star, 43, is Phillips’ top choice for the role in his DC movie, which will be produced by Martin Scorsese.
Variety reports that sources have confirmed ‘while studio negotiations are not yet underway, Phillips has made it clear that Phoenix is the top choice to star,’ and what’s more, Joaquin has ‘agreed’ to the role.
This would mean that he’ll follow in the footsteps of Jack Nicholson, Heath Ledger, and Jared Leto when it comes to playing the DC villain on the big screen.
Phillips, who is best known as the director of The Hangover trilogy, is co-writing and directing the movie, which is a part of the DC Extended Universe that includes films like Justice League and Wonder Woman.
The Joker movie itself is set to be a standalone, and will not in anyway tie-in with the Suicide Squad timeline establish by David Ayer.
It’s expected to take place in the 1980s, and the project is being described as more of a crime saga in the vein of a Martin Scorsese movie (not such a surprise) than a traditional superhero origin story.
Rumour has it that the untitled Joker project will see the character rising through the criminal underworld to become a mob king.
Scorsese’s Wolf Of Wall Street lead, Leonardo DiCaprio, was originally a top choice for the role but that didn’t pan out.
And, just to complicate things further, given that it won’t have any affect on the Suicide Squad franchise Jared Leto will also continue to play the character in upcoming movies.
More: Batman
Phoenix has been the top choice to take on other superhero roles before, but has been resistant to joining any major studio blockbuster.
He was previously in talks to play Lex Luther in the catastrophe that was Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, and was said to be in consideration to lead Doctor Strange (a role that went to Benedict Cumberbatch in the end) but the actor ended up turning down both superhero films.
Obviously there’s been quite the reaction to this news on the Internet, with the move surprising a lot of people. Some found the news a good thing, others funny, and well many others… well, they just got angry.
The Joker is like the new Hamlet, the role every actor wants to play to show they are they best.
— Scott Derrickson (@scottderrickson) February 8, 2018
Jared Leto’s Joker was trash.
Joaquin Phoenix should’ve been casted as the Joker way before. Shame it’s just for his origin.
— Papi Memes
(@SavinTheBees) February 9, 2018
THEY ALREADY HAVE A JOKER ORIGINS IN A MOVIE AND ITS CALLED “Batman” FROM 1989 DIRECTED BY TIM BURTON AND STARRING MICHAEL KEATON AND JACK FUCKING NICHOLSON! WTF IS WB DOING?! STOP RUINING DC!! #JoaquinPhoenix
— Gonz (@_GNZ_) February 8, 2018
This is going to be a very big case of, ‘let’s wait and see’.
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