Joaquin Phoenix's response to reports linking him to a Joker solo movie is about as cryptic as a clue from the Clown Prince of Crime himself.
The Academy Award nominee is the latest Hollywood A-lister linked to a Martin Scorsese-produced Joker standalone film from Warner Bros and DC, which would explore how a failed stand-up comic was transformed into the most notorious villain in Gotham City.
Phoenix is known for his love of pulling the wool over everyone's eyes — like when he spent a solid year pretending to launch a hip-hop career. It's certainly not unexpected that he's being just as cryptic about this latest role.
Talking to Fandango, Phoenix flashed a Joker-esque grin as he said: "It could be an interesting character, I don't know."
Phoenix has been linked to comic book roles before (like Doctor Strange, for example), and it sounds like he's not opposed to jumping into a blockbuster franchise like Batman.
"If you have the ability to transcend the genre, then that's what you want to do," he argued. "So I wouldn't say, hands down, no – I wouldn't do that kind of movie. There are things where I've flirted with the possibility where there was the potential for this to be… something that's actually interesting to me.
"But then for whatever reason they never got to that place where everyone else feels the same way. And that's key. Everyone has to want to explore the same thing or else it just doesn't f**king work. I'm not opposed to it. I don't make decisions on budget or things like that – it's really the filmmaker and the character."
If he were to take the role of the Joker, he'd be following in the footsteps of Jack Nicholson, Heath Ledger and Jared Leto, who most recently played the villain in the DCEU's Suicide Squad.
There is no release date or even title announced yet for DC's Joker standalone film.
Night News Editor
Justin has been with Digital Spy since 2010, and in that time, has covered countless major news events for DS from the US.
He has worked previously as both a reporter and sub editor for the brand, prior to taking on the position of Night News Editor in 2016.
Over more than a decade, he has interviewed a wide-ranging group of public figures, from comedian Steve Coogan to icons from the Star Trek universe, cast members from the Marvel Cinematic Universe and reality stars from numerous Real Housewives cities and the Below Deck franchise. As a US contributor to Digital Spy, Justin has also been on the ground to cover major pop culture events like the Star Wars Celebration and the D23 Expo.
