The much anticipated Joker movie starring Joaquin Phoenix now has an official title and release date.
What is exciting about the latter is that the movie isn’t as far away as we’d feared, with October 4th 2019 being the date given by Warner Brothers.
The title of the movie is (drumrolllllllllll): ‘Joker.’
Warner Bros. made the announcement yesterday ahead of Comic-Con, which commences this weekend. The studio is making a presentation on Saturday so we expect news about this and their other projects then.
Warners said that ‘Joker’ will have a dark tone, describing it as an “exploration of a man disregarded by society that is not only a gritty character study, but also a broader cautionary tale.”
The movie is being directed by Todd Phillips (primarily known for his work in comedy, having directed ‘Old School’ and ‘The Hangover’ trilogy), who is co-writing the script with Scott Silver (‘8 Mile,’ ‘The Fighter’). Martin Scorsese is an executive producer.
After much speculation, the casting of Phoenix in the role was confirmed last week.
As soon as his deal was finalised, the studio set a September start date for production with a budget in the moderate $55 million range.
The release date means it will be competing with several other titles for box office gold, including Ang Lee’s Will Smith starrer ‘Gemini Man’, Dwayne Johnson’s Disney ride movie ‘Jungle Cruise’, John Crowley’s adaptation of the Pulitzer Prize-winning ‘The Goldfinch’, and Joe Wright’s adaptation of ‘The Woman in the Window’. Moreover, DC/Warner Bros’ movie ‘Wonder Woman 1984’ hits cinemas just weeks later on November 1st.
The Joker is a role that has been brought to life on the big screen by Jack Nicholson, Heath Ledger and, less popularly, Jared Leto in the past. Warner Bros. is also developing a standalone movie for Leto’s Joker which is separate from Phoenix’s project.
Nicolas Cage expressed interest in taking on the infamous role earlier this year.
