By Anthony Frajman
The film has been greenlit for a September production start, and will be a darker installment than other recent DC efforts.
This is the latest in the long saga of Joker films, which we have dived into previously – Warner Bros. and DC are developing a separate film on the character with Jared Leto, which is still to go ahead.
This Phoenix-starrer will be directed by Hangover Director Todd Phillips, set in the ‘80s, and will have a reported budget of $55m – making it much more modest than previous recent films featuring the character.
The movie was originally set to be produced by Martin Scorsese, however the filmmaker has dropped out due to existing commitments; his regular producer Emma Tillinger Koskoff is still behind the film.
The film had been rumoured to be in the works since August last year, where word first came about of the actor’s possible involvement.
The announcement is quite a departure for Phoenix, who of late has largely chosen smaller films by independent directors – Gus Van Sant (Don’t Worry, He Won’t Get Far On Foot), James Gray (The Immigrant); Woody Allen (Irrational Man).
The star is coming off Lynne Ramsay’s You Were Never Really Here [pictured] for which he won a Best Actor award at Cannes, and which will be released in cinemas in September.
Phoenix also recently filmed the all-star Western The Sisters Brothers, by French helmer Jacques Audiard (Dheepan, A Prophet).
