Joaquin Phoenix-led Joker film officially begins filming in September

Last year, rumors began swirling that a Joker movie produced by Martin Scorsese and directed by The Hangover director Todd Phillips was in the works. While plausible, people began thinking the film was less and less likely as time went on.

Oscar-winning actor Leonardo Dicaprio was heavily rumored to star as The Clown Prince of Crime in a standalone story that would be totally unrelated to the current DC films and Jared Leto’s Joker. Rumors also stated that the film would kick off a new brand of DC films that are similar to the ‘Elseworld’ comics which are one-off stories that couldn’t be done in the current continuity.

This would allow other actors to come in and play iconic superheroes and villains and have directors tell unique and untraditional stories that maybe wouldn’t fly with a mandatory PG-13 rating. With that said, Warner Bros. is moving forward with this Joker movie with Joaquin Phoenix playing Batman’s arch-enemy according to The Hollywood Reporter.

The film will begin shooting in New York this September and is being described by Warner Bros. as an “exploration of a man disregarded by society [that] is not only a gritty character study but also a broader cautionary tale.” The untitled film will be made for around $55 million (a very small budget for a movie under the DC Comics brand) and will be a dark, experimental film that is being compared to a crime drama.

As the movie gears up to go into production, Jared Leto also has his own Joker movie in development. This one is significantly further behind and who knows if it’ll even get off the ground but it’ll be interesting to see how DC tries to juggle having two different Jokers at the same time.

Joaquin Phoenix is known for being very selective in the roles he takes on and turned down the part of Doctor Strange in Marvel’s superhero universe so it definitely isn’t a question of money or fame. This could boast well for the story DC and WB wants to tell but only time will tell if it ends up being a success for the studio. The film will reportedly be an origin story of sort for The Joker and give us a darker look into the criminal underworld of Gotham City.

Warner Brothers has yet to lock down a date but San Diego Comic-Con is next week so it wouldn’t be completely shocking if they bring Joaquin Phoenix out on stage and announce that the film is coming sometime toward the second half of 2019.