With the DC Expanded Universe going through tons of turmoil, it came as a great surprise Warner Bros. had finally signed up Joaquin Phoenix to star as the Joker in a standalone origin movie which is officially titled Joker. Little is known about the movie, but we do know when it will arrive in theaters.
Warner Bros. has set October 4, 2019 as the release for the Joker movie, according to The Hollywood Reporter. That gives the production team 15 months to get the film ready, which is pretty aggressive. Originally, the movie wasn't expected to arrive until 2020. It's a tall task for a big budget blockbuster to get done in that amount of time, but Joker won't actually be that type of DC movie.
The movie will have a production budget of $55 million, far below the bloated budgets fellow DC movies have had. For comparison, Justice League cost around $300 million to make after reshoots.
The scaled back budget seems to lean into the idea that the movie will be "darker and more experimental" and will focus less on expensive and elaborate CGI work. It's unlikely Warner Bros. would have agreed to make a movie with that description without it carrying a manageable budget.
Fans should take this development with welcome arms because it gives director Todd Phillips free reign to try new things previous DC movies haven't been able to do.
