Marc Maronhas boarded the cast of theJokerorigin movie. Joaquin Phoenix is playing the beloved DC villain, which has helped boost the credibility of the project and has certainly added to its intrigue and appeal. With production set to begin in September, casting is underway and pre-production is in full swing. Now, Maron has become the latest star to join the growing ensemble of what could be the most interesting DC movie coming down the pipeline currently.
According to a new report, Marc Maron will play an agent on a talk show hosted byRobert De Niro’s character. Maron will have a hand in booking Joaquin Phoenix’s character for the show and, ultimately, play a part in causing him to turn into the Clown Prince of Crime. The story will take inspiration from Frank Miller’sThe Killing Jokeand Martin Scorsese’sThe King of Comedy. Todd Phillips, who is best known for his work onThe Hangovertrilogy, is on board to direct. Phillips co-wrote the screenplay with Scott Silver, known for his work on movies such as8 MileandThe Fighter.American Horror Story’s Frances Conroy is also on board as The Joker’s mother, withDeadpool 2andAtlantabreakout Zazie Beetz in negotiations to play the female lead.
As for Marc Maron, he has been seen recently on Netflix’s hit seriesGlow. Maron got his start doing stand up comedy and gained notoriety when his podcastWTFbecame one of the most popular podcasts around. That led to hisIFC series Maron, which ran for four seasons.Jokerwill easily be the most high-profile movie project Maron has ever been a part of.
This movie, simply titledJoker, will take place outside the currentinterconnected universe of DC movies, which includesMan of Steel,Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice,Suicide Squad,Wonder WomanandJustice League. The idea is for Warner Bros. to launch a separate label for standalone DC movies such as this that can tell different types of stories without having to be tethered to a predetermined line of continuity.Jokerwill be the first movie to take this approach.
Warner Bros. is also mitigating risk to some degree. Typical comic book movies, such as the upcomingAquaman,ShazamorWonder Woman 1984, cost $150 million or more to produce.Jokerhas been budget at $55 million, meaning it will be smaller in scope and will carry less financial burden. That should allow the creative team to take more risks.
Jared Leto, who portrayed The Joker inSuicide Squad, is still set to reprise his role in future movies in the DC universe, since this origin movie takes place outside of that continuity. Leto is also currently developing his own solo movie, which doesn’t yet have a release date and appears to be much earlier on in the development phase.Jokeris set to arrive in theaters on August 10, 2025. This news comes to us courtesy ofVariety.
