ActorJoaquin Phoenixis one of the more impressive and mysterious actors around today and he recently added to that mystique when he expertly avoided questions about Warner Bros.' standaloneJoker Origin Movie, which he is heavily rumored to star in. Late last year, it was revealed that Warner Bros. and DC Films were aiming to make aJokermovie outside the lines of the DCEU with Martin Scorsese producing andThe Hangover’s Todd Phillips helming the project. Leonardo DiCaprio was originally rumored to play theClown Prince of Crime, but a new report surfaced earlier this year stating that Joaquin Phoenix is now the man that the studio wants.
Joaquin Phoenix is out promotingDon’t Worry, He Won’t Get Far on Footand a French interviewer asked him about the standaloneJokermovie. Instead of taking the question head on, Phoenix claimed that he had no idea what the interviewer was talking about. Though he claimed to havenever heard of said project, he did say that it sounded “amazing.” When asked, he said, “What movie about theJoker?” The interviewer apologized, and Phoenix replied, “I have no idea what you’re talking about. Don’t be sorry.”
It is entirely possible that Joaquin Phoenix has no idea about theJokermovie. However, the original report came from a very reputable source and since has been reported nearly everywhere, so it would be pretty hard for the actor to have never even heard of the project at all. It’s more than likely that Phoenix was just being coy since nothing has been officially announced at this time. Since the news has been revealed, there hasn’t been a peep since, but Joaquin Phoenix is pretty good at blurring the lines between reality and fiction on the fly as witnessed in the mockumentaryI’m Still Here.
If Joaquin Phoenix has been cast as theJoker, he’s doing quite possibly the best job ever at denying any involvement in the project. Phoenix has reportedly been hesitant to joining any superhero movies. The actor was in talks to play Lex Luther inBatman v Supermanand was in consideration to leadDoctor Strange, but the actor ended up turning down both of the movies. It might not be the characters, but the movies and the scripts themselves, so it seems that he’s just waiting for the right part to come along.
The standaloneJokerorigin movie is expected to launcha new banner for Warner Bros. and DC Filmsto get out of the interconnected DCEU way of doing things. If the moviegoes into productionsoon as it’s expected to, there could very well be three different Jokers on the big screen during the course of one year. Depending on your point of view, that might be a bit much, but the prospect of seeing Joaquin Phoenix as the Clown Prince of Crime might make it all worth it. You can check out the translated version of the interview over atIndie Wire.
