We’re going to be getting a lot of Joker for the next several years.
Several projects attributed to Batman’s arch-nemesis has been making its way out of the woodwork for the past several weeks now. For one thing, DCEU confirmed a Joker spinoff following Jared Leto’s portrayal of the character after his debut in David Ayer’s Suicide Squad. The character is also reportedly rumored to make an appearance in upcoming movies from DCEU’s slate, including Suicide Squad 2, Gotham City Sirens, and The Batman.
Beyond that, however, there’s another Joker movie that functions as a prequel and is being produced by Martin Scorsese (Goodfellas, Wolf of Wall Street) and directed by Todd Phillips (The Hangover trilogy). The casting for Martin Scorsese’s Joker has just been announced, and it is none other than Walk The Line actor Joaquin Phoenix.
At first glance, this casting seems like an odd choice to play the Joker, especially in a Martin Scorsese production. With roles in movies including I’m Still Here, The Master, and Her, Phoenix is more recently known for playing the introverted, quiet character. He isn’t really known for playing extroverted, animated characters outside of Gladiator and Walk The Line. With that in mind, it seems odd to cast him as a psychotic criminal who wears a purple suit and clown makeup on his face.
That is until you realize this is a Joker prequel, and most of the scenes presumably are going to portray the character before he took on the villainous mantle. Rumored to be loosely adapted on The Killing Joke storyline by Alan Moore which showed the Joker before going on a downward spiral of madness, it’s very possible that Phoenix’s portrayal is just going to be a regular old Joe that has one very bad day that transforms him into the Clown Prince of Crime. Through that scope, Phoenix’s casting is pitch-perfect, and it will be fascinating to see how he slowly turns from a Gotham City everyman into Batman’s greatest nemesis.
What do you guys think? Are you excited to see Phoenix become the Joker, or are you going to skip it in favor of Jared Leto’s portrayal? Comment below, let me know.
– David Dunn
SOURCE: The Independent, Screen Rant
DAVID DUNN 