There are plenty of questions surrounding Todd Phillips’ upcoming comic book film, “Joker.” First and foremost, is the film actually any good? With the cast and crew assembled, it’s difficult to think that this will be a bad film, that’s for sure. Also, will it be in the conversation for awards consideration later this year? With endorsements from folks at TIFF and Venice (where the film will be screened), “Joker” is one of the films that have the most awards buzz going into the fall. But even with those questions, there’s one thing we know for sure — “Joker” isn’t your everyday superhero film.
According to a new interview with the AP, Phillips talked about how his film is different than those other comic book films and why fans will likely be surprised by what “Joker” has in store for them, starting with the typical origin of the Batman villain.
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“He doesn’t fall into a vat of acid and come out laughing,” Phillips said. “That’s a comic book thing.”
Even though Phillips is clearly creating his own origin story for the villain in “Joker,” there are some that feel like they already have all the secrets figured out. How, you may ask? Well, there’s been a leaked script that’s been shared online that many fans have read, and apparently does include all the reveals that will shock audiences.
But according to Phillips, even if you’ve read the script, you really don’t know what’s going to happen in the finished film.
“They’re in for a big surprise when they see the movie,” said the filmmaker.
While he wasn’t keen to give out details, Phillips said that the script had changed quite a bit from the version that is floating around to the shooting version that was used last September.
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Ultimately, judging by the comments made by the cast and crew, as well as the footage that has been shown in trailers, “Joker” is poised to be a truly unique comic book film, even though it’s based on one of the oldest supervillains in existence. And according to the director, a lot of that is thanks to Warner Bros., who surprisingly gave him carte blanche to make his own film and not be beholden to the decades of comic book storylines.
“They were incredibly bold in just saying, ‘Ok there are no rules just go do your thing,’” he said. “It was amazing.”
We’ll have to see how this all works out for WB and Phillips when “Joker” debuts at the Venice Film Festival before hitting theaters on October 4. Either the film becomes a major disappointment, or we end up continuing this awards discussion. We shall see.