Joker origin film will portray him as a failed '80s stand-up comic

Joaquin Phoenix is close to finalising a deal to star, in a film unrelated to the DCEU

(Alamy)

The planned Joker origin film will portray the Batman villain as a failed '80s comic.

With The Hangover's Todd Phillips at its helm, the project will take inspiration from Alan Moore's 1988 graphic novel The Killing Joke, according to The Wrap, which sees the character as a struggling stand-up who snaps and turns to a life of crime in order to support his family.

Joaquin Phoenix is close to finalising the deal to play the Joker; the film could start production as early as mid- to late-2018, though it could be delayed due to rewrites, sources say.

This little insight also explains as to why the film curiously has Martin Scorsese on board as producer, since the legendary director dealt with a similar subject matter in 1982's King of Comedy, starring Robert De Niro, which also sees a frustrated comic turn to crime.

The project forms part of Warner Bros.' new move to develop a series of DC films unrelated to the current DC Cinematic Universe (DCEU); Jared Leto's Joker still lives, with reports he'll get his own outing alongside Margot Robbie's Harley Quinn.

With Suicide Squad 2 also still currently in the works, the Joker-Harley Quinn movie will be separate, helmed by Glenn Ficarra and John Requa, the pair behind NBC drama This is Us and the 2011 film Crazy, Stupid, Love.

The film is planned to fit in the schedule after Suicide Squad 2, with an insider describing it as, "an insane and twisted love story. When Harry Met Sally on benzedrine."

Coupled with that is the revelation that Matt Reeves' The Batman will also be a standalone movie outside of the DC universe, which in turn may mean a new Batman who isn't Ben Affleck. We certainly won't be short on DC projects anytime soon.

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