Alec Baldwin out, Brett Cullen in.
That’s the news from TheWrap this evening, confirming that Cullen, a seasoned Hollywood veteran whose credits span everything from The Shallows to Red Dawn to The Dark Knight Rises, has landed the role of Thomas Wayne in Joker.
Coming to us by way of Todd Phillips and Joaquin Phoenix, another titan of the industry, Joker has been pitched as a “gritty character study” about DC’s Clown Prince of Crime, who will go by the name of ‘Arthur’ when the lights go down next October. And Papa Wayne? When Baldwin was originally linked to the part, the character was described as a pompous, Trump-like business magnate, though it’s unclear if Brett Cullen will stick to the current plan or bring his own unique take to the role of Batman’s father.
Chances are he’ll honor the script from Phillips and Scott Silver (The Fighter), albeit with one or two subtle touches to make the role of Thomas Wayne his own.
Word is this Joker origin movie will have no tangible effect on the DC Extended Universe Worlds of DC, as Warner Bros. still plans to carve out a standalone film for Jared Leto’s Clown Prince of Crime further down the road. The 30 Seconds to Mars megastar currently has his plate full with Morbius, the Spider-Man spinoff gestating at Sony Pictures alongside Venom, Kraven and all sorts of villainous pics mined from Spidey’s famous rogues gallery.
Getting back to Gotham and Joker, in particular, and we understand filming is now underway across parts of New York City, as Todd Phillips and his team begin preparing for that all-important October 4th, 2019 release date. Let’s put a smile on that face, shall we?
