UPDATED: Alec Baldwin leaves the Joker movie
UPDATE: It turns out that Alex Baldwin has left the Joker movie.
Baldwin told USA TODAY Wednesday, “I’m no longer doing that movie” citing “scheduling” issues. “I’m sure there are 25 guys who can play that part,” Baldwin said.
“Let me state, for the record, that I have NOT been hired to play a role in Todd Phillips’ JOKER as some Donald Trump manque,” Baldwin wrote in a Tweet. “That is not happening. Not. Happening.”
Let me state, for the record, that I have NOT been hired to play a role in Todd Phillips’ JOKER as some Donald Trump manque.
That is not happening.
Not.
Happening.— ABFoundation (@ABFalecbaldwin) August 29, 2018
Back to the original post below:
Todd Phillips (The Hangover) is set to begin shooting Joker in September. Joaquin Phoenix will play the title role in the origin film. Phillips co-wrote the film with Scott Silver and it will look into how the Joker became a criminal mastermind.
Variety is reporting that Warner Bros. has hired Alec Baldwin to play the role of Thomas Wayne, the father of Batman.
No word yet on how Thomas Wayne will interact with Phoenix’s character. However, THR say that “the script paints Thomas Wayne as a cheesy and tanned businessman who is more in the mold of a 1980s Donald Trump.” A bit of a change from the noble kind doctor, businessman and father from the comics. Hopefully, those sources are wrong and are just riffing off Baldwin’s Trump from SNL.
Baldwin joins an already impressive cast that sees Robert De Niro playing a talk-show host who plays a part in driving Phoenix’s character to go mad. Zazie Beetz and Marc Maron are also starring.
The project’s budget is in the $55 million range, significantly lower than the tentpoles that dominate the form. And the stand-alone is meant to be darker and more experimental in tone and content (at least as experimental as a studio can be with established brands such as DC), which is described as being akin to a crime drama. Previous talk has also said it will be unrelated to the other DC movies.
Jared Leto will not appear in this Joker film. He is due back in a Suicide Squad sequel as some point, along with another standalone Joker movie that will be separate from Phoenix’s Joker project.
What are your thoughts on the Joker origin film? Share your thoughts in the comments below.