JOKER: New Stills Put The Spotlight On The Main Cast; Todd Phillips Compares The Film To THE DARK KNIGHT

A new batch of Joker stills have been released highlighting Joaquin Phoenix and Zazie Beetz's characters, while director Todd Phillips has made an interesting comparison between this and The Dark Knight...

By JoshWilding - Aug 20, 2019 06:08 AM EST

Filed Under: Joker

With October rapidly approaching, Joker's marketing campaign is heating up in a big way and along with some brand new stills, we have some very interesting remarks from director Todd Phillips in which he explains how his film is similar to another critically acclaimed superhero movie.

Phillips says that Joker "is not meant to be political, but it is meant to be provocative" before comparing his DC Comics adaptation to Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight.

"I think there will be some 21-year-olds that go and watch it who just think it’s a version of a Joker story," the filmmaker explains. "And that’s fine, too. I don’t want to define it as this message movie, because it’s not. But it definitely is, the same way that The Dark Knight was not a message movie, but it definitely was a post-9/11 terrorist sort of ‘Oh shit…’ thing."

That's a unique comparison, and one that's bound to result in high expectations for Joker. After all, it's already set to premiere at the Venice Film Festival, and there's quite a bit of awards buzz.

To check out these new stills from the movie, all you guys have to do is hit the "View List" button!

"There were times when I would go, like, 'Look at this f*cking world, and how we lack empathy and real compassion and care,’" star Joaquin Phoenix says when asked if real-life events in the news helped shape his take on the character. "I felt like there were things that odd and [co-writer] Scott [Silver] were touching on that were relevant to what we may be experiencing now."

"But I also felt like they weren’t being didactic, and they weren’t steering you towards one particular way of watching the movie, and saying, ‘This is the cause.’ To me, the Joker…" the actor adds. "I’m reluctant to shape the way people view this movie. There’s not really a right way of looking at this film. Part of what is so fascinating about the Joker is that there isn’t the specific origin."

"There’s not a specific catalyst. And so it allows us as a viewer to project our own ideas of discontent or whatever we feel onto the character. So yes, I think there are a lot of things that are relevant. I hope that people explore those things and talk about them. It’s a safe way to do that. But I also feel like: it’s not just that." So, yeah, it sounds like this will be a pretty deep movie!

Continue reading below for our in-depth look at the long,
convoluted history of The Flash's journey to the big screen.

The Flash Begins...

Phil Lord and Chris Miller were initially hired to write The Flash in April 2015 (it ended up only being a treatment), and while there was a chance they might also direct, those hopes were dashed when they instead chose to work on Solo: A Star Wars Story. Later that year, Seth Grahame-Smith signed up to helm the project and he also took another pass at the screenplay.

However, the following year, he parted ways with Warner Bros. over "creative differences." We never learned what those were, but it was said that the studio would keep his script (which makes sense, especially as he has far more experience in that realm than as a director).

At this point, The Flash was still set to be released on March 16th, 2018, and the prevailing theory was that it would adapt Flashpoint. Either way, Rick Famuyiwa was later named the movie's new director (because he "provided a vision that would resonate with young viewers" according to the trades) and the casting process finally started to heat up...

Casting Central City

With Famuyiwa racing towards that 2018 release date, he chose Kiersey Clemons to play Iris West. The actress worked with the filmmaker on Dope and beat the likes of Rita Ora and Lucy Boynton to the role. Variety later reported that Cyborg actor Ray Fisher would reprise his Justice League role in The Flash, while Billy Crudup soon boarded the project as Henry Allen.

Jumping ahead for a moment, you'll no doubt be well aware that both Clemons and Crudup shot scenes for Justice League. However, the former was completely cut, and we learned from leaked VFX images that Barry Allen was meant to meet Iris while saving her from a car crash (out of costume). Crudup, meanwhile, still appeared as Henry in Iron Heights alongside Miller's Barry.

The Rogues

Miller had nothing but good things to say about Famuyiwa during an interview at Comic-Con in 2016, and it was later confirmed that the director was putting his own stamp on the screenplay.

It was around this time that reliable sources started reporting that The Flash's villains would be The Rogues or, more specifically, Captain Cold and his sister Golden Glider. This appeared to contradicted rumblings about a Flashpoint adaptation and it instead seemed like that was a plotline being saved for the Justice League sequels by Zack Snyder.

Those movies were definitely set to delve into time-travel, but we've never learned how The Flash would have lined up with Snyder's post-apocalyptic vision of the DC Extended Universe.

More "Creative Differences"

We didn't even get to the end of 2016 before The Flash lost another director to "creative differences."

Famuyiwa was reportedly hoping to deliver a slightly edgier take on the Fastest Man Alive, but pushback from Warner Bros. seemingly made things impossible for him; however, you can't really blame the studio, especially as the darker DC Comics movies that were released in 2016 were met with a mauling from critics (making them extremely cautious with The Flash, it seems).

"I pitched a version of the film in line with my voice, humor, and heart," the director said. "While it’s disappointing that we couldn’t come together creatively on the project, I remain grateful for the opportunity." As time passed, that 2018 release date looked increasingly unlikely.

Works Starts Over Again...Again!

It was back to the drawing board as 2017 began and Warner Bros. decided to task Joby Harold (King Arthur: Legend of the Sword, Robin Hood) with rewriting the screenplay from scratch. This meant we had to throw out everything we knew about the movie, and with Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald on the horizon, Miller's schedule was looking mighty busy.

With Clemons talking about making her debut as Iris West in Justice League and Warner Bros. denying that Crudup had left the DC Extended Universe alongside Famuyiwa, rumors started swirling about who would next direct the project.

Back to the Future helmer Robert Zemeckis was named a favourite, while Sam Raimi and Matthew Vaughn were also said to be on the list of frontrunners. There were even claims that Lord and Miller could be asked back to work on the movie, something that got fans very excited indeed.

Flashpoint!

Those talks never led to anything significant, and as another Comic-Con rolled around, we got confirmation from Warner Bros. that the movie was set to be titled Flashpoint. As we mentioned a little earlier, there were rumours about this being an adaptation of that storyline since day one, but it was made finally official, and it looked like the studio had a solid direction to take this solo outing in.

Aquaman and Wonder Woman were rumoured to appear, and it looked like Harold's screenplay was finished.

That may sound like good news, but as the year started winding down, we heard that Warner Bros. was waiting to see how Justice League did before making any decisions about Flashpoint and President Toby Emmerich explained that while they were closing in on a director, the movie's budget had made them somewhat cautious about shooting it.

More Directors Enter The Mix

Geoff Johns confirmed that Batman would be in Flashpoint, and all the signs were pointing to that being Jeffrey Dean Morgan (reprising his role as Thomas Wayne from Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice). It was all rather exciting, but there were clearly still issues behind the scenes, along with rumblings that Warner Bros. wanted to recast Clemons before her scenes leaked online.

While this was playing out, Ben Affleck's time as Batman also appeared to be winding down, but there were reports that he would show up in Flashpoint as a "passing of the torch" of sorts.

On the plus side, the movie once again got new directors, this time in the form of Spider-Man: Homecoming writers John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein. Reliable sources revealed that Ben Affleck was also offered the director's chair but it seems as if he wasn't really that interested.

A Whole New Story

With another rewrite in the works from the newly appointed directors, plans changed yet again and the movie lost the Flashpoint title. Apparently, Warner Bros. was looking to cast the likes of Caitlin Snow and Heatwave, while Officer Fred Chyre would have appeared as a Keystone City cop working with Barry Allen to investigate the death of Jonathan Chambers/Johnny Quick.

Dr. Arthur Light, meanwhile, was said to be The Flash's lead villain and it was claimed that "the film would include some references or potential flashbacks to Barry's accident, an accident we're told that will include Eobard Thawne in an interesting way." The movie was definitely shaping up to be a solo outing rather than what almost appeared to be a spinoff Justice League movie.

Some Crazy New Ideas

As work continued on this new version of The Flash, a few different names were added in behind the scenes role but shooting clearly wasn't going to begin until 2019. A 2021 release date was a possibility, while Miller promised "a f*cking crazy-dope Flash movie" in one interview.

Suddenly, things got real quiet with this DC Comics adaptation and while generic updates kept popping up regarding shooting dates, it was clear that nothing was set in stone at this point in time.

The actor would go on to tease a "Speedster Multiverse" and it definitely sounded like Daley and Goldstein had some pretty big plans. However, things then got seriously weird for The Flash.

Competing Screenplays

Clearly unhappy with the direction The Flash was heading in, Miller chose to team up with comic book writer Grant Morrison to write his own version of the screenplay. While The Game Night directors were planning to deliver a lighter, comedic take on the character, Miller wanted to take things down a darker route similar to what Snyder once had planned for this shared world.

However, this same report made it clear that Warner Bros. was happy with Daley and Goldstein's vision, and while they were happy to indulge Miller, it didn't sound like they were overly keen.

At the time, we heard that the actor could end up leaving the project if Warner Bros. chose not to go with his and Morrison's screenplay and while we've heard nothing about that since then, the studio once again decided to take the Scarlet Speedster's movie in a new direction...

Another Fresh Start...And A Possible Release Window

Due to "creative differences" (again), Warner Bros. instead turned to IT: Chapter 2 director Andy Muschietti to take the helm of the movie. The script they worked on was thrown out - along with Miller's - and Bumblebee and Birds of Prey scribe Christina Hodson is now said to be writing a new version.

Miller is still attached to star so he must be happy with this compromise, but with the studio starting over yet again, production now isn't expected to begin until next January. As a result, a movie originally set to be released early last year is now taking aim at a 2021 or 2022 release date. Well, hopefully!

After all, with so many creative problems surrounding The Flash, it's hard to say whether Muschietti will stick around, and there's still a chance Miller will decide against starring in the movie.

It's been quite a saga for The Flash but things are finally starting to look up for the DC Comics movie. We hope! What do you guys think the future holds in store for the Fastest Man Alive?

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GhostDog - 8/20/2019, 6:50 AM I love TDK but some of its post 9/11 messaging was VERY ON THE NOSE. Hope Joker doesn't do the same. Login to report abuse




















tmp3 - 8/20/2019, 6:51 AM Black Swan homage: What's even more interesting is that Aronofsky (director of Black Swan) wanted Joaquin Phoenix to play his Batman for his abandoned Batman Year One project, and even talked about how the Joker film from his "good friend Todd Phillips" reminded him of that very project. Login to report abuse

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