While some of us don’t mind if a film adaptation of a comic book property differs from the source material, others take it a bit more personal. The latter group may have some gripes with director Todd Phillips because he says his upcoming comic book movie, Joker, will be ignoring the comics.
During an interview with “Empire Magazine” Phillips said that “people are gonna be mad” about his approach to the character in his latest film:
“We didn’t follow anything from the comic books, which people are gonna be mad about. We just wrote our own version of where a guy like Joker might come from. That’s what was interesting to me. We’re not even doing Joker, but the story of becoming Joker. It’s about this man.”
Joaquin Phoenix is taking on the title character, previously brought to life by such actors as Jack Nicholson, Heath Ledger & Jared Leto. Phillips said Phoenix was his first choice for the role and he even had a picture of the actor above his computer during the writing process, long before Phoenix was cast.
Phoenix’s version of The Joker is troubled 1980s comedian Arthur Fleck and early glimpses of the character have drawn strong comparisons to Robert De Niro’s performance in Martin Scorsese’s The King of Comedy. De Niro also appears in Joker as talk show host Murray Franklin.
The trailer for Joker looks amazing and if that first look is any indication of where the film could be headed, I’m ok with Phillips and his team taking liberties. I guess we’ll have to see what happens when Joker hits screens on October 4.
