JOKER Origin Story In The Works At Warner Bros. - SUICIDE SQUAD's Jared Leto Will Not Reprise The Role
WB has a Joker solo movie in the works with The Hangover‘s Todd Phillips co-writing & directing, & Martin Scorsese on board as producer. Jaret Leto will not play the younger version of the character...
Deadline reports that Warner Bros. is planning a Batman spin-off that will focus on the early criminal career of The Dark Knight's arch nemesis, The Joker . However, word is this will not be directly connected to the current crop of DCEU movies and Suicide Squad's Jared Leto will not return to play the Clown Prince of Crime.
Apparently, writer/director Todd Phillips' project is to be "the first film under a new banner that has yet to be named in which WB can expand the canon of DC properties and create unique storylines with different actors playing the iconic characters." In other words, it will exist alongside the DC Films Universe, in which Leto is still on board as the present-day Joker and will appear in both Suicide Squad 2 and Gotham City Sirens.
Is the studio attempting to create a big-screen version of The Multiverse? Certainly looks that way.
The spin-off has none other than Martin Scorsese on board as a producer, and Deadline reckons the legendary director's early work like Taxi Driver and Raging Bull will be a big influence. The intention is to make a "gritty and grounded hard-boiled crime film set in early-’80s Gotham City."