Next month, the Clown Prince of Crime rises again as Joaquin Phoenix gives his unique take on the iconic villain in Joker. As is clear from a glimpse at the trailers, the movie will be very different from other DC pics we’ve seen of late and will be mostly divorced from the wider comic book universe. That said, the Wayne family will still feature prominently, including a young Bruce.
So, does this mean there could be a crossover on the cards for Phoenix’s Joker and Robert Pattinson’s Dark Knight, set to make his debut in Matt Reeves’ The Batman? Well, simply put, no. Joker director Todd Phillips was asked about the chances of this while speaking with Variety at the Toronto International Film Festival. His reply didn’t leave any room for error, either, with the filmmaker saying: “No, definitely not.”
For Phillips, it’s far more likely that another actor will come along before too long and offer a different interpretation of the Joker. After all, the director went on to say how he’s certain Phoenix won’t be the last cinematic iteration of Batman’s nemesis.
“Oddly, in the states, comic books are our Shakespeare it seems, and you can do many many versions of “Hamlet.” There will be many more jokers, I’m sure, in the future.”
Joker‘s premiere at TIFF follows on from its enormously successful screening at Venice Film Festival, at which it earned an eight minute standing ovation from the audience and won the prestigious Golden Lion award. The pre-release buzz has helped boost the pic’s box office estimates, too, with it looking to make a killing (joke) this October. That said, there has been some controversy online about its levels of violence and supposed sympathetic portrayal of the villain.
All in all, though, the hype for Joker is high and if things go well, it could easily end up as one of the most acclaimed comic book movies of all-time.