Apparently, the rumors are true. Last week, The HashTag show reported that Robert De Niro was going to appear in Todd Phillips‘ “Joker” movie alongside Joaquin Phoenix playing the clown prince of crime. Turns out this was on the money. Apparently, these talks have been in the works for weeks, and nothing is official as of yet, but if Phillips has bagged Phoenix and De Niro, he must either have a killer script or a killer pitch.
READ MORE: Joaquin Phoenix’s ‘Joker’ Stand-Alone Film Set For A 2019 Release Date
Then again, maybe it’s the Martin Scorsese connection. Scorsese was initially touted as the executive producer of “Joker” when first announced. Undoubtedly his name lent the project a lot of credence and legitimacy when it was pitched to Warner Bros. But curiously enough, Scorsese’s name has disappeared from all official reports of this film since it was officially greenlit by Warners (and even further back than that). Though one suppose he’s given the movie his informal blessing and talked to friends like De Niro about it.
THR, who confirms the negotiation talks says: “Sources said he’ll play a formative figure in the development of the character who eventually becomes The Joker. But De Niro’s character is not a villain, I’m told.” The Hash Tag show said the character was someone named Murray Franklin, described as a white guy ages 65-75.
This “Joker” origin movie, totally removed from the current “Worlds Of DC” universe—the new name Warner Bros. gave their DCEU this weekend at Comic-Con—and Jared Leto‘s iteration of the character in “Suicide Squad” has been described as a gritty and grounded hard-boiled crime film set in early-’80s Gotham City. It’s also supposed to be placed in the 1980s which emphasizes just how far removed it is from the current DCEU that lives in the present day.
The picture shoots this fall with a modest budget of approximately $55 million; a fraction of what most superhero movies cost. Zazie Beetz, the co-star of “Deadpool 2” as the lucky character Domino was recently cast as a single mother who catches the interest of the Joker.
Every trade report about the “Joker” movie and DC Films/WB’s plans for this alternative universe of DC character— darker, grittier, seemingly more adult—have been touting a new shingle or banner wherein all these films would fall to mark their distinction to the public. Many thought, including us, that the banner name would have been revealed in San Diego this past weekend, perhaps including an “official” announcement about the “Joker” and the October 2019 release date it was given by the company. But Warner Bros. was completely silent about any new projects other than the ones that have been already shot and or currently filming like “Aquaman,” “Shazam!” and “Wonder Woman ’84.”
UPDATE: The Wrap is now confirming that actress Frances Conroy is in talks to join the film, as well. The report says that she will play the mother to Phoenix’s Joker character, named Penny.
