These last couple of years have been rough for Warner Bros. with the poor performance and the ultimate dismantling of the DCEU to make way for a new franchise. But even amidst that whole incident of management shift and films being taken out, Todd Phillip’s Joker made the world revere the greatness of DC.
Considered to be one of the greatest comic book films to ever be made, it has definitely earned its rightful place in the next chapter of DC Films with DCU’s Elseworlds. But while it may have been an absolutely amazing cinematic experience, the director revealed that getting this project off the ground was anything but easy.
Todd Phillips Had To Confront WB Executives To Make Joker Happen
In a time when the MCU was a dominating force in the film industry, Warner Bros. brought out the DCEU as its biggest competitor in 2013 with Man of Steel. But several poor-performing films later, we are once again back at square one with the reboot of the entire DC cinematic universe. And although everything is completely scrapped from the old regime. Todd Phillip‘s 2019 masterpiece Joker lives on. The film surely was one of the biggest hits in the franchise but convincing WB that it would turn out this way was the hardest part.
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In a past episode of Director’s Roundtable, The Hangover director talked about his experience trying to get the DC project off the ground. He outlined his experience about how he pitched the idea to the executives at Warner Bros. and was met with ridicule and skepticism. He revealed that it took almost a year to pitch the idea to the top brass of the company, where they only had ridiculous things to say about the idea. One of those conversations even involved comparing the project to merchandise sold at supermarkets. He said:
“We had a really hard time getting that film made, which seems insane today now, seeing how well the movie has done. We spent a year at Warner Bros. and I saw emails back and forth lietarlly where they said ‘Does (Phillips) realize we sell Joker pajamas at Target’. What you’re saying? these movies come first and the pajamas come second. Like, are the Pajamas dictating the movies?”
But still, despite these ridiculous claims and jabs, the filmmaker stood adamant about the project, and the rest is history.
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What’s Next For Joker?
With the release and subsequent success of the film in 2019, Joker, along with the modern noir masterpiece The Batman were the films that new DC Films CEO James Gunn wanted to keep. Therefore, while he dismantled the old DCEU, he also kept these films within DCU’s Elseworlds series of movies.
Now, Todd Phillips is back again to deliver on the demand of the fans with the upcoming Joker: Folie à Deux, a sequel to his original film. The upcoming movie will be a crime drama film that will have Joaquin Phoenix reprise his role as the titular character along with the addition of Lady Gaga.
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Joker: Folie à Deux, releasing in cinemas on 4th October 2024.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
