DC Entertainment is gearing up to give Batman's arch-nemesis The Joker an origin story courtesy of legendary director Martin Scorsese.
While a deal is only in the early stages, Scorsese is in talks to executive produce an '80s-set gritty crime thriller in the vein of Goodfellas that explores how The Joker became the Clown Prince of Crime (via Deadline).
The Hangover's Todd Phillips is currently attached to direct and will collaborate on the screenplay with 8 Mile and The Fighter scribe Scott Silver. DC and Warner Bros have yet to publicly comment.
(US director Todd Phillips)
This project is being pitched under DC's deal with Warner Bros, but Deadline reckons that it will be a completely standalone venture unconnected to the DC Extended Universe — which means, potentially, no Jared Leto.
As mentioned, Phillips's movie will set the crook who'd become The Joker into an early '80s Gotham City and, in terms of tone, mirror Scorsese's own beloved early 1980s classics like Raging Bull.
The Joker is unique among legendary comic characters in that he doesn't have a universally accepted origin story. Alan Moore's graphic novel Batman: The Killing Joke is most often cited as a roadmap for the villain.
In the one-off 1988 story, The Joker was portrayed as a failed stand-up comedian who originally joined up with the mob to support his family. In 1989's Batman film, Jack Nicholson portrayed a separate version called Jack Napier, who was transformed into the Joker after being dumped into a vat of chemicals by the Caped Crusader.
Both The Dark Knight and last year's DC Extended Universe entry Suicide Squad avoided giving a definitive origin for the villain that made his debut in the comics in 1940.
This project is one of several that DC Entertainment and Warner Bros are lining up along with Joss Whedon's Batgirl, Suicide Squad 2, the Harley Quinn-centric Gotham City Sirens and Nightwing to exploit the Batman family.
There's nothing definitive yet about Jared Leto's own future as The Joker. Back in July, the actor remained cagey about whether he'd be part of Suicide Squad 2, Gotham City Sirens or The Batman.
