Joaquin Phoenix’s JOKER Movie Is Officially Happening

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There has been talk and speculation about Joaquin Phoenix starring in a standalone Joker movie for a while now. But nothing was official. Now though, THR is reporting that Warner Bros has officially green lit the film.

Phoenix signed on the dotted line to play the Caped Crusader’s most popular enemy. The almost Doctor Strange is notoriously picky when it comes to choosing roles, so there must be something intriguing about this for him to commit to it.

Todd Phillips (The Hangover) is directing the movie, and he helped write the script as well. Warner Bros describes the film as an “exploration of a man disregarded by society [that] is not only a gritty character study, but also a broader cautionary tale.”

There are rumors of a second standalone Joker movie with Jared Leto as well, but right now, this is the only one happening for sure.

I never want to write off a movie before I see it, but I can’t figure out how this is a good idea. The Joker works because of the mystery surrounding him. That is one of the things that made Heath Ledger’s version so compelling: His origin story changed every time he told it as you can see in the video below.

On the other hand, they’ve done a version of the Joker’s origin in Gotham. But I can’t help thinking of this tweet from Scott Weinberg that sums up my feelings pretty perfectly:

It's pretty cool how much we love Jaws without knowing the antagonist's origin story.

— Scott WeinBoo! (@scottEmovienerd) July 11, 2018

How would you feel if we got a Jaws origin story? Where we see where the shark came from, how he got so big, and what he did before he got to Amity Island?

Don’t get me wrong – I like answers. It is why I was so frustrated with Lost. We didn’t get satisfactory answers to a lot of things that were introduced. But The Joker is different. His insanity and mysteriousness plays better when you don’t know things. Him remaining something of an enigma is a good thing.

Warner Bros is reshuffling things with DC, so I am surprised that this is a priority for them. I will approach cautiously, I have been wrong about this sort of thing before.

THR is also reporting that filming will begin in September, which was indeed a rumor we had heard before.

Now that this is closer to reality, have your feelings changed any? When we hear more news we will be sure to keep you updated.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter

About Post Author

Matt Vernier

Lifelong geek who is passionate about movies. I review things on my blog: https://www.GeekyRegards.com. Find me on Twitter! @MattV525 - Inquiries: Mavern519@gmail.com

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