Jared Leto was reportedly so unhappy that Warner Bros. was going ahead with Joaquin Phoenix’s Joker film that he tried to get the project canceled.
Jared Leto’s frustration and anger against Warner Bros. continues to bleed into the newscycle as The Hollywood Reporter brings word that the former Joker actor wanted to kill Joaquin Phoenix’s solo outing as the Clown Prince of Crime. This comes after the news that Jared Leto “felt alienated and upset” after Warner Bros. gave Joaquin Phoenix’s Joker the go-ahead. When Jared Leto found out about the solo Joker film, he contacted his agents at CAA, who also represent Todd Phillips (who directed Joker for Warner Bros.) and complained to them. In another move to kill Joaquin Phoenix’s Joker, Jared Leto called his music manager Irving Azoff.
Someone close to Jared Leto denied both of these allegations, but someone who has knowledge regarding the situation said that Azoff never made the call to Warner Bros. and the two have since parted ways. Jared Leto has also left CAA, with the Joker situation reportedly being the final nail in the coffin for the star’s relationship with the coveted agency. Jared Leto believed that his agents should have told him earlier about Joaquin Phoenix’s Joker getting the greenlight and fought for his version of the iconic Batman villain.
Joaquin Phoenix’s Joker is a global success both commercially and critically for Warner Bros. On the other hand, as the DC’s film slate continues to grow and expand, there doesn’t seem to be a place for Jared Leto’s Joker.
What are your thoughts on the whole Joker situation? Let us know in the comments section!
Here is the official synopsis for Warner Bros.’s Joker:
Director Todd Phillips “Joker” centers around the iconic arch nemesis and is an original, standalone fictional story not seen before on the big screen. Phillips’ exploration of Arthur Fleck, who is indelibly portrayed by Joaquin Phoenix, is of a man struggling to find his way in Gotham’s fractured society. A clown-for-hire by day, he aspires to be a stand-up comic at night…but finds the joke always seems to be on him. Caught in a cyclical existence between apathy and cruelty, Arthur makes one bad decision that brings about a chain reaction of escalating events in this gritty character study.
Directed by Todd Phillips from a script he co-wrote with Scott Silver, Joker stars Joaquin Phoenix, Robert De Niro, Zazie Beetz, Bill Camp, Frances Conroy, Brett Cullen, Glenn Fleshler, Douglas Hodge, Marc Maron, Josh Pais, and Shea Whigham.
Joker is now playing in theaters. Stay tuned for the latest news regarding Jared Leto, Joaquin Phoenix and the Warner Bros. movie.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
