The Joker Origin Movie: Leonardo DiCaprio Is Warner Bros' Top Choice To Star
He's the King of the World... and the Clown Prince of Crime?
When it was revealed last week that Warner Bros. are planning a Joker origin movie, the only thing stranger than that news itself was the report stating Martin Scorsese would be executive producing.
Scorsese isn't someone typically associated with comic book movies, but now the grand plan has been revealed: they hope he'll help them lure their top choice to star, Leonardo DiCaprio.
DiCaprio and Scorsese have a long, brilliant screen history together, from Gangs of New York to The Wolf of Wall Street, and Warners want to team them up along with director Todd Phillips for the Joker tale, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
It's an ambitious gambit, since DiCaprio is about as A-list as they come and isn't known for taking on franchise movies. The movie is being setup as a gritty crime movie, hence eyeing up the likes of Scorsese and DiCaprio, and THR notes that they want a big movie star for the role, even if they can't land Leo.
The story does state that no offer has yet been made to DiCaprio, while Scorsese's involvement isn't confirmed either, so any deal is a long way off - if there's even a chance of it happening at all. Nonetheless, the notion of an actor of DiCaprio's incredible talent taking on the Joker is an intriguing one, as we raised here. If it's something more akin to The King of Comedy, then that could be really great.
Also included in the THR report is that Jared Leto was caught off-guard by the multiple Joker news, and not overly happy with the situation. He is still a part of the DCEU though, with plans for a Harley Quinn and Joker movie also announced last week.
This week, meanwhile, it was reported that the Joker would have a permanent smile in his origin movie, and that he was bullied as a child.
What do you think about the potential of DiCaprio playing the Joker? Share your thoughts down in the comments.