Warner Bros. CEO Reportedly Eyeing ‘Joker’ Director Todd Phillips For Major DC Films Role

Phillips is currently developing a Joker sequel for the studio.

Joaquin Phoenix Joker David Fincher Todd Philips

Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav reportedly wants Joker director Todd Phillips to have a larger role in DC’s upcoming films.

The future of DC is in new hands with David Zaslav stepping in as the new CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery following the merger. It’s been previously reported that Zaslav is looking at recent films like Todd Phillips’ Joker as the blueprint moving forward. Joker was notably a huge hit for Warner Bros. after earning a billion dollars with a budget under $100 million. The new CEO is also looking to make DC films a theatrical product and for a leader in the vein of Marvel’s Kevin Feige.

Is Todd Phillips Going To Be DC’s Kevin Feige?

Warner Bros. Discovery announced on Wednesday that Michael De Luca and Pamela Abdy will lead the studio’s film division. According to The Hollywood Reporter, CEO David Zaslav also has his eyes set on Joker director Todd Phillips as someone who could take on a larger role with DC’s upcoming films as an advisor. Phillips is currently developing a sequel to Joker.

Here is the official synopsis for 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 available on 4K UHD, Blu-ray, DVD, and Digital. Stay tuned for all the latest news on the potential sequel, Warner Bros. CEO David Zaslav’s plans for DC, and be sure to subscribe to Heroic Hollywood’s YouTube channel for more original video content.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter

Ryden Scarnato

Ryden Scarnato

Ryden's affection for all things DC, Marvel, and Star Wars has led him to entertainment journalism at Heroic Hollywood as a News Editor.