How would Joaquin Phoenix’s version of the Joker react the the existence of Batman? Joaquin Phoenix himself explains that he’s not sure.
Todd Phillips’ Joker movie is set outside the confines of the standard DC Universe, in which there are a number of cosmic and magic threats alongside a bunch of dudes wearing costumes and enacting or stopping various evil plans. What sets Joker apart from standard Batman spin-off stories is that Batman himself is not active at this time, with Bruce Wayne being a young child. (In the initial trailer, Joaquin Phoenix’s pre-Joker Arthur Fleck is seen trying to cheer the pre-Batman Bruce Wayne up through the gate of Wayne Manor.)
But, since this is not an ordinary Batman narrative, or a standard superhero story, the Joker doesn’t have to concern himself with fighting a superhero in the third act of the film. As such, Joaquin Phoenix was actually caught by surprise for a moment when interviewer Jake Hamilton asked him about what a first confrontation between his Joker and the Batman would be like, before coming up with an interesting answer:
“I haven’t thought about that. I feel under pressure, you seem excited, I see that energy and I want to reciprocate that, but I don’t know what his reaction will be. I imagine that he would feel a surge of excitement.”
You can watch the full interview below.
Provided that the movie does well, there’s a greater-than-zero chance that they could do a sequel involving Batman. Currently, tracking on Joker is doing well enough to suggest that that’s within the realm of possibility. Director Todd Phillips has said that he’s open to doing a sequel if Joaquin Phoenix – who originally saw the project as a one-and-done deal – is interested in returning, but it remains to be seen if that will be the case, as the actor isn’t known for getting involved with multi-installment franchises (a reason why he turned down the role of Doctor Strange).
Here is the official synopsis for Joaquin Phoenix’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, Zazie Beetz, Bill Camp, Frances Conroy, Brett Cullen, Glenn Fleshler, Douglas Hodge, Marc Maron, Josh Pais, and Shea Whigham. The movie is not part of the DC Extended Universe, and seems to play into Warner Bros.’s interests of making creator-driven superhero movies over necessarily building a hyper-connected shared universe… At least for the time being.
Joker will be released in theaters on October 4, 2019. Stay tuned for the latest news on the Joaquin Phoenix movie!
Source: Jake Hamilton
DC Universe Debuts ‘Doom Patrol’ Character Posters
Along with the premiere of the first teaser for Doom Patrol, DC Universe also debuted a collection of character posters for each of the members of perhaps the strangest team of characters to be adapted in live-action form for DC Comics.
In particular, these new character posters highlight Timothy Dalton's The Chief, Diane Guerrero's Crazy Jane, Joivan Wade's Cyborg, April Bowlby's Elasti-Woman, Matt Bomer's Negative Man and Brendan Fraser's Robotman. These posters each follow unique designs that reflect the nature of each character and tease unique personalities amongst the group as well.
You can start the gallery of new posters by clicking "Next".
Which of these Doom Patrol posters is your favorite? Are you excited to see what the cast brings to these roles? Sound off in the comments below, and be sure to continue following Heroic Hollywood for all the latest news in the DC Universe.
Doom Patrol is a reimagining of one of DC’s strangest group of outcast Super Heroes which includes: Matt Bomer as Larry Trainor/Negative Man, Brendan Fraser as Cliff Steele/Robotman, April Bowlby as Elasti-Woman, Diane Guerrero as Crazy Jane, Joivan Wade as Victor Stone/Cyborg and Timothy Dalton as Dr. Niles Caulder/The Chief.
Here is the synopsis for the show:
“Doom Patrol will find the reluctant heroes in a place they never expected to be, called to action by Cyborg, who comes to them with a mission hard to refuse, but with a warning that is hard to ignore: their lives will never, ever be the same.”
Doom Patrol will premiere on February 15, 2019 exclusively on DC Universe.
