Alec Baldwin has been cast as Batman's father Thomas Wayne in "Joker," an individual with knowledge of the project tells TheWrap.
Film directed by Todd Phillips will star Joaquin Phoenix as the clown prince of crime.
Thomas Wayne first made his appearance in Detective Comics #33 (Nov. 1939) in Batman's origin story. He is the father of Bruce Wayne, who is Batman, and husband of Martha Wayne. Thomas Wayne was a gifted physician and philanthropist in Gotham City. When Dr. Wayne and his wife are murdered in a street robbery after a screening of Tyrone Power's "Zorro," the young Bruce Wayne becomes inspired to fight crime as the vigilante Batman.
While story details are being kept under wraps, it has been previously reported that the origin story for Batman's nemesis will be more of a mid-budget crime thriller than a superhero blockbuster, and that it will be based — at least loosely — on the origin story for the character depicted in Moore's "The Killing Joke."
Warner Bros. and Village Roadshow will co-produce the film, with Todd Phillips directing. Emma Tillinger Koskoff and Richard Baratta, whose producing credits include Martin Scorsese's "The Wolf of Wall Street," are attached as producers. The film will be released on October 4, 2019, with production set to begin in New York in September.
Frances Conroy is in talks to play the Joker's mother, an individual with knowledge of the project exclusively told TheWrap. Robert DeNiro, Zazie Beetz, and MArc MAron round out the rest of the cast.
Baldwin is repped by CAA.
Deadline first reported the news.
