Joaquin Phoenix has finalised a deal for the starring role in the previously revealed Joker origin movie.

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As reported by THR , Warner Bros. has reportedly signed on Joaquin Phoenix to star as the The Clown Prince of Crime in its low budget Joker origin film, which reportedly starts production in September.Details of the film originally surfaced last year when IGN's sources confirmed the movie was in the early stages of development at Warner and DC, with The Hangover's Todd Phillips still attached to write and direct. Eminem's 8 Mile writer, Scott Silver, is co-writing the script.According to THR, the studio describes this Joker tale as an “exploration of a man disregarded by society [that] is not only a gritty character study, but also a broader cautionary tale.”The reported $55 million budget film has The Wolf of Wall Street's Emma Tillinger Koskoff and Richard Baratta on board as producer and executive producer, respectively.According to Variety and as previously reported by IGN, it will be a standalone release under a currently unannounced banner of DC comics that will allow for a more unconventional exploration of iconic characters from the comic book publisher's stable, outside of the current DCU.The story reportedly will be set in the 80s and will play out as a gritty crime drama rather than a blockbuster superhero movie. A release date hasn't yet been confirmed.A Joker film starring Jared Leto is apparently still on the cards.

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