Recently, it was announced that Warner Bros. is sitting out this year’s San Diego Comic-Con. This is especially interesting because the studio has multiple comic book properties on the slate, with the highly-anticipated “Joker” coming in October. However, according to a new report, it appears that WB might have bigger aspirations for the villainous film.
Deadline is reporting that there’s “chatter” that says Todd Phillips’ upcoming “Joker,” which stars Joaquin Phoenix, Zazie Beetz, and Robert De Niro, might actually be primed for a Venice Film Festival appearance. Obviously, if this is true, it would be a huge opportunity for the film, as well as adding legitimacy to the superhero genre, which has so far only been successful at the box office and doesn’t have a ton of awards and festival appearances.
A “Joker” appearance at Venice would also signal that WB has a lot of faith in its upcoming film. After the first teaser for the film went viral earlier this year, we knew that fan anticipation is through the roof. But adding some intrigue is the fact that there might actually be some critical acclaim coming its way. We shall see.
But that’s not all the Venice rumblings that Deadline is reporting. There is also talk that controversy could be at the film festival with Roman Polanski possibly debuting his latest film, “An Officer and a Spy.” The film, which stars Louis Garrel, Emmanuelle Seigner, Jean Dujardin, and Mathieu Amalric, would mark the first film from the director since being expelled from the Academy after his past sexual assault conviction was brought back to light due to the #MeToo movement.
It’ll be interesting to see how Venice welcomes Polanski back, if he shows up at the festival. Apparently, the film would be a stronger contender for a Venice premiere, but the director would have to rush to get the film completed in time, and that’s still up in the air. It sounds similar to the spot that Quentin Tarantino found himself in trying to get “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” ready for Cannes earlier this year.
We’ll find out soon enough, as the Venice Film Festival is set to begin August 28.