Warner Bros. Responds To Aurora Victims’ Fears About Joaquin Phoenix’s ‘Joker’

Joker Joaquin Phoenix Warner Bros

Warner Bros. released a statement addressing the concerns regarding Joaquin Phoenix’s Joker expressed by victims of the Aurora shooting.

While Warner Bros.’ Joker received acclaim after screening at the Venice and Toronto film festivals, several movigoers have expressed concerns over the potential real-world implications of the Joaquin Phoenix movie. Specifically, some are concerned that Joaquin Phoenix’s Joker, who is depicted as a mentally ill man who feels victimized by society, could inspire troubled men who might feel a rapport with the titular character to commit acts of violence.

Five family members of those who were killed or witnessed the 2012 mass shooting at an Aurora Cinemark theater screening of The Dark Knight Rises signed a letter to Warner Bros. addressing these concerns, in addition to calling on the studio to use its influence to lobby the U.S. Congress for gun reform. In a statement to Heroic Hollywood, Warner Bros. addressed the letter and outlined its history of donating to victims of violence while making it clear Joaquin Phoenix’s Joker is not intended to hold the villain up a “hero”:

“Gun violence in our society is a critical issue, and we extend our deepest sympathy to all victims and families impacted by these tragedies.  Our company has a long history of donating to victims of violence, including Aurora, and in recent weeks, our parent company joined other business leaders to call on policymakers to enact bi-partisan legislation to address this epidemic.  At the same time, Warner Bros. believes that one of the functions of storytelling is to provoke difficult conversations around complex issues. Make no mistake: neither the fictional character Joker, nor the film, is an endorsement of real-world violence of any kind. It is not the intention of the film, the filmmakers or the studio to hold this character up as a hero.”

Before the Warner Bros. statement was made, both the studio and Cinemark has already decided not to screen Joaquin Phoenix’s Joker at the Cinemark Aurora Century Theater, where the shooting took place.

What do you make of Warner Bros.’ response? Let us know below!

Here is the official synopsis for Warner Bros.’ 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 fracturedsociety. 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, Warner Bros.’ Joker stars Joaquin Phoenix, Zazie Beetz, Bill Camp, Frances Conroy, Brett Cullen, Glenn Fleshler, Douglas Hodge, Marc Maron, Josh Pais, and Shea Whigham.

Joker will be released in theaters on October 4, 2019.

Sebastian Peris

Sebastian Peris

Canadian film buff, political junkie, comic book geek, and board game enthusiast.