Warner Bros. reportedly plans to use producer Martin Scorcese to lure longtime collaborator Leonardo DiCaprio to play the lead in the in-development Joker origin story movie.

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The Hollywood Reporter says that the studio would like DiCaprio (or another extremely high-profile actor) to play the Joker "as a gritty crime boss in a Scorsese-esque Gotham underworld." However, no offer has yet been made.The split between this standalone movie and ongoing DC Extended Universe projects has seemingly already confused one big name - current Joker actor Jared Leto (who, in Suicide Squad, already portrayed the iconic villain as a crime boss of sorts) was apparently surprised and upset by the idea of another actor taking on the role. Leto is currently lined up to reprise the Joker in Suicide Squad 2, and the Joker & Harley Quinn spin-off movie Former MMA fighter and actor Brendan Schaub has added fuel to fire, describing a very similar film concept following a talk with mooted director Todd Phillips' agent. While speaking on The Joe Rogan Experience (as reported by Batman News ), Schaub said that: “It’s dark. It’s like a dark Joker. As a kid, he had a permanent smile and everyone made fun of him. It’s like on the streets of Brooklyn. It’s super dark and real.”The first reports of a Joker origin movie emerged last month , claiming that The Hangover director Todd Phillips will direct, with Martin Scorcese to produce and 8 Mile writer Scott Silver working on a screenplay.

Joe Skrebels is IGN's UK News Editor, and, if they're going non-traditional for this movie, he'd like to play Harley Quinn. Follow him on Twitter