Warner Bros. Recasting The Joker For Origin Story Film From Martin Scorsese

No, this is not a joke. And yes, we had to read Deadline’s report twice to believe it – but it’s true. Warner Bros. is moving ahead with an origin story film for one of the most iconic DC characters: The Joker. Set to be produced by Martin Scorsese (again, we’re not joking) and directed/scripted by The Hangover‘s Todd Phillips, Jared Leto will not return to reprise the role. Instead, the studio will find another actor to play a younger version of the villain.

Details are still scarce, but from what we understand, the flick will be a “gritty and grounded hard-boiled crime story set in early-’80s Gotham City that isn’t meant to feel like a DC movie as much as one of Scorsese’s films from that era, like Taxi Driver, Raging Bull or The King Of Comedy.” Furthermore, Deadline’s report says that WB is looking to tell an origin story “that isn’t part of any other iteration,” which is very intriguing and honestly, could make for a pretty great movie.

At the time of writing, there’s no word on who may play the Clown Prince of Crime, when the film will release or even what it’ll be called, but it is happening and with the cat now out of the bag, we expect to learn more shortly. Even at this early, early stage though, the project shows massive potential and should have DC fans very excited.

For one, Martin Scorsese is amongst the most beloved and acclaimed filmmakers of all-time and is not someone who you’d expect to be involved with a comic book movie. As such, to have him attached here in a producing role speaks volumes, as it indicates that the studio is probably sitting on something pretty special. Not only that, but Phillips is also an accomplished individual and between the two of them, this Joker origin story will surely be in good hands.

The one thing that remains unclear is how exactly the project will be tied into the DCEU. Deadline notes that “this will 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.” We imagine that means that it won’t have any ties to the DCEU at all, or very few, but then again, we really don’t know. If one thing’s for certain, though, it’s that having two different Jokers running around up on screen might cause confusion amongst audiences.

After all, we know that Leto is still set to return for Suicide Squad 2 and Gotham City Sirens, so we’re a bit confused as to how all this is going to fit together. We probably won’t learn more about that for some time, but at the moment, there’s definitely a lot to be excited for and as always, you can leave your thoughts on this planned Joker origin story film in the comments section.