When Warner Bros. and DC Entertainment announced that they are embarking on a film project about the Joker origin story, many naturally assumed that Jared Leto would do the part. Leto played the Joker in the movie “Suicide Squad,” which was also produced by Warner Bros and DC Entertainment.
However, media reports said that Leto is not going to play the iconic Batman villain. Anonymous sources told Variety that the studios actually will attempt to get “Titanic” star Leonardo DiCaprio to play the Joker.
When asked about the Joker origin movie in an interview by On Demand Entertainment, Jared Leto said: “…its big universe and when you play the Joker, there’s no ownership there.” Leto said that he loves the character and that he had fun playing the Joker.
He also spoke about the honor of holding the baton for a while and then eventually passing it to another.
The Joker origin movie is said to be a standalone film and is separate from the DC Extended Universe.
Other movies about the Joker
Leto pointed out that there are other films being developed as well and he is excited how these movies will turn out. The actor is set to reprise his role as the Joker in “Suicide Squad 2” and in the spin-off movie with Harley Quinn.
THR, however, reported that Jared Leto was not happy with the multiple Joker situations.
No definite casting yet
There is no definite news yet on who will eventually play the Joker in the standalone project. Getting Leonardo DiCaprio to sign on the project is still seen as a remote possibility.
Though Warner Bros. is planning to get Martin Scorsese to join the film production and maybe help convince the Academy Award winning actor to play a movie villain once again.
DiCaprio and Scorsese have worked together in several films including “Gangs of New York,” “The Aviator,” “The Wolf of Wall Street,” and “The Departed.”
The Joker origin film already has Todd Phillips as director and co-writer.
Phillips previously directed the hit film, “The Hangover.” Scott Silver will co-write the script.
New DC Entertainment label
Warner Bros. and DC Entertainment are in the process of developing a label where the Joker standalone film will be classified as it is not part of the current DC Extended Universe, which includes “The Justice League,” “Wonder Woman,” and the “Suicide Squad.”
As to possible Joker origin movie release date, it would be reasonable to assume that the movie opens after 2020 given that Warner Brothers’ had already lined up the films scheduled for release up to 2020.
