Robert De Niro to Join Joaquin Phoenix in Joker Origin Film

Robert De Niro isn’t known for doing superhero movies, but he may be joining Joaquin Phoenix for Warner Bros. Joker origin film.

Per the Hollywood Reporter, De Niro is in negotiations to join the upcoming film alongside Phoenix and Atlanta’s Zazie Beetz. He would be portraying a talk-show host with an instrumental role in the Joker’s origin. Variety reports that the script has ties to De Niro’s film The King of Comedy, about a failing comedian who kidnaps a popular talk-show host to gain fame. Phoenix is the latest actor to take on the Joker character, and Beetz will portray a single mother who catches the eye of the future Clown Prince of Crime.

The Todd Phillips-directed film, simply titled Joker, is set for an October 2019 release date with production beginning in New York in September. The film can boast Martin Scorsese as executive producer. Scott Silver joined Phillips to write a script described as an “exploration of a man disregarded by society [that] is not only a gritty character study, but also a broader cautionary tale.” Sounds like some pretty heavy stuff, if you ask us.

The film will likely be darker and more experimental in tone and content than previous DC comic book films, which only seems appropriate. For fans of Jared Leto’s version of the character, don’t fret; he’ll likely reprise the role in Suicide Squad 2 and will star in and executive produce a standalone Joker movie of his own.

Confusing? Sure. Lucrative? DC is surely hoping so.