It’s looking increasingly likely that the Joker origins movie – not to be confused with Joker and Harley Quinn, or the standalone film earmarked for Jared Leto’s Clown Prince of Crime – will stand on its own two feet, as character descriptions unearthed by That Hashtag Show point to a big departure from the continuity of DC Films.
Said to be operating under the working title ‘Romeo’, we’re hearing that Warner Bros. plans to use Martin Scorsese’s involvement (he’ll executive produce the solo drama) as leverage to court Hollywood legend Robert De Niro for a supporting role.
This is, after all, a double act that has produced the likes of Taxi Driver, Goodfellas, Cape Fear and Casino, so it’s small wonder why Warner Bros. is keen to add an actor of De Niro’s caliber. He’s seemingly up for the part of Murray Franklin (a codename, perhaps?), though further details on his mystery character are practically non-existent – all we know for sure is that he’s a Gotham power player.
THS goes on to outline a series of characters set to appear in the Joker origins film, which already has Joaquin Phoenix on board as the Clown Prince of Crime. There are eight in total, beginning with Penny.
Penny: Supporting female (60-74), Caucasian. Lower class, very attractive in her younger days, still feels that way about herself. But recently her health has started failing, and she’s nearly bedridden in her Lower East Side apartment which she shares with her grown son who just moved back home. She’s obsessed with her former employer and can’t believe that this is what her life has come to, that she has ended up here, like this.
The breakdown continues:
Sophie Dumond: Supporting female (27-34), to play African American or to play Latina. Not beautiful, has a hardness to her, a single mother living on the Lower East Side, doing the best she can, trying to make ends meet; worn out by the grind of the city. She understands how the system is stacked against her and the people in her community, how unjust it all is for them. She’s just trying to catch a break.
Randall: Supporting male (40-59), Caucasian. Thinks he’s the wisest and most knowledgeable person in any room he’s in, tries to present himself as a mentor to everybody, but is really just looking out for himself, burly.
Gary: Supporting male (30-49), any ethnicity to play a dwarf. Randall’s best friend, he’s good-natured and a buddy to his colleagues at work, one of the only decent people in the whole movie.
Hoyt Vaughn: Supporting male (50-69), any ethnicity. The old-school manager of hotel staff. He’s seen it all, and finds it difficult to give a shit about much of anything anymore.
Finally, That Hashtag Show’s source alludes to two police detectives, who almost certainly hail from Gotham’s finest:
Detective Garrity: Supporting male (50-59), any ethnicity. Police Detective in a city on the brink; a by-the-book cop, worn down by all his years on the force. He doesn’t care about or take into consideration any of the societal or political ramifications of his cases.
Detective Burke: Supporting male (30-39), any ethnicity. A Police Detective and Garrity’s partner; he’s an asshole, who gets off by being in a position of authority. Being a cop is how he defines himself.
They’ll likely fall victim to Joaquin Phoenix’s maniac at some point in the film, which is coming to us by way of writer-director Todd Phillips. A September start date is already on the cards for this Joker movie, so it’s shaping up to be a busy, busy summer for Gotham’s most famous criminal. Stay tuned for more.