According to new reports (via Variety), Oscar-nominated Walk the Line star Joaquin Phoenix will be the next actor to take on the role of the Joker in the villain's planned origins film.
Phoenix is apparently director Todd Phillips' top choice for the role, but considering there's been no official comment from WB just yet, we'll take this news with a pinch of salt for now.
The standalone Joker film movie is coming from The Hangover director Phillips, who will collaborate on the screenplay with 8 Mile and The Fighter scribe Scott Silver, and it is said to be an origin movie for Batman's nemesis, set in the '80s – with no connection to anything else going on in the shared DC Extended Universe.
Which basically means Jared Leto's job is still safe, for now.
This wouldn't be Phoenix's first brush with the Hollywood side of the comic book industry, as he's previously been considered for the role of Lex Luthor in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice – a role that ultimately went to Jesse Eisenberg – and had talks for Marvel's Doctor Strange too.
If the news is true, it will also mean that Joaquin has reconsidered his previous 'no superhero movies' stance, having previously shared that he's not keen on going through that whole experience.
"I just don't know if I want to have the experience of being in them," he said back in 2015.
"I've flirted with several of those films, having meetings and getting close, but ultimately it never felt like they'd really be fulfilling. There were too many requirements that went against my instincts for character."
As for the most recent incarnation of the Joker on screen, Jared Leto is expected to return to the role in Suicide Squad 2, which is thought to begin filming next month. We're also expecting Leto to star alongside Harley Quinn actress Margot Robbie in a new Joker and Harley movie, but we know even less about that project.
Next up on DC's schedules is Jason Momoa as Aquaman, which is scheduled to be released on 21 December, 2018.
