With a trifecta of well-received moneymakers in the bag in 2018, Marvel are riding high on a wave of momentum when it comes to its live-action movie slate. As for DC, well, it’s a slightly different story there.
Seemingly forgetting that they already have a Jared Leto Joker movie in the works, DC and Warner Bros’ latest surefire solution to grab a piece of that sweet comic book movie pie is to greenlight a new Joker movie starring Joaquin Phoenix.
The new Joker movie will be directed and co-written by Todd Phillips, and is described as an ‘exploration of a man disregarded by society [that] is not only a gritty character study, but also a broader cautionary tale.’
Not to pour cold water over this so early but it will be, shall we say interesting, to see how Phillips will pull this off. But considering he’s known for gritty character dramas like The Hangover and Old School, maybe there’s hope yet.
If there is a glimmer of light for the Joaquin Pheonix Joker movie, it’s that it won’t have to make much moolah to be profitable.
It is reported that the movie is budgeted at about $55 million, while not chump change but is a far cry from the $200 million budgets of almost every other superhero blockbuster released these days. As for when this new Joker movie will be released, no date has been set but a late 2019 window has been touted as a possibility.
With the Joker receiving yet another go around on the big screen, hopefully the DC movies we actually want to see won’t get pushed back to accommodate the green haired sociopath.
No, not that Ben Affleck Batman movie. I’m talking about Birds of Prey.
Margot Robbie recently said that work is underway for Birds of Prey, which will feature an all-star line up of female DC characters with Robbie’s Harley Quinn at the helm.
What we know so far about Birds of Prey is that it will be much cheaper than the last few DC blockbuster fusterclucks (good), it will be going for an R-rating (gooder), and the production start date is penciled in for January 2019 (goodest) though nothing is officially confirmed (not so good).
You’d think that DC would’ve learned its lesson from the brilliant Wonder Woman and let the female heroes take centre stage on the big screen, but apparently the Joker still carries enough goodwill to get 28 movies.
Okay, let’s look on the bright side. At least the Joaquin Phoenix solo Joker movie will undoubtedly be better than the Jared Leto Joker movie.