According to Joker director Todd Phillips, DC fans should not expect to see Joaquin Phoenix’s version of the Clown Prince of Crime share a screen with Robert Pattinson’s Batman.
While speaking with Variety, Phillips was asked outright whether Pattinson’s Batman and Phoenix’s Joker would ultimately clash. His answer was decidedly brief yet firmly shot down the potential development. “No,” he said. “Definitely not!” The statement comes in the wake of a mysteriously redacted comment from Pattinson during a separate interview. One that reportedly included a spoiler and was tied directly to Phoenix’s version of The Joker. The comment, as well as a suspected connection to Batman v Superman, fuelled much speculation on social media over the last week.
In the same interview, Phillips explained he was not reluctant to helm a film starring the Joker, despite the high expectations brought about from Heath Ledger’s portrayal of the character in 2008’s The Dark Knight. The director also mentioned he loves both Jack Nicholson’s version of the Joker from 1989’s Batman and Jared Leto’s version from 2016’s Suicide Squad.
Phillips went on to address the future of the character and comic book adaptations in general. “Oddly, in the states, comic books are our Shakespeare it seems, and you can do many many versions of ‘Hamlet’,” he said. “There will be many more jokers, I’m sure, in the future.” The film is already poised for box office success, with early projections having it set to break Venom‘s October record. It is also already enjoying critical success, even winning the coveted Golden Lion at the 2019 Venice Film Festival.
Directed by Todd Phillips, Joker stars Joaquin Phoenix, Robert De Niro, Zazie Beetz, Bill Camp, Frances Conroy, Brett Cullen, Glenn Fleshler, Douglas Hodge, Marc Maron, Josh Pais and Shea Whigham. The film arrives in theaters Oct. 4.
The Batman is directed by Matt Reeves, who will also produce alongside Dylan Clark. While casting is still underway, the film is scheduled to be released on June 25, 2021.
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