Thanks to the praise Warner Bros' upcoming R-rated flick Joker has received, the DC film is on road to make a successful box office opening on its release next month. The new iteration of the clown prince of crime was quick to impress the audience at TIFF and other film festivals. It also prompted the question, what if Joker faced the Batman? Unfortunately, while that is not a possibility, actor Joaquin Phoenix still had a response to the unlikely scenario.
Talking to Jake Hamilton in an interview about Joker, Phoenix was asked what his reaction would be if his version of the Joker saw a man dressed as a bat. Though the actor initially took a moment to respond, he gave his honest answer.
"I haven't thought about that. I feel under pressure, you seem excited, I see that energy and I want to reciprocate that, but I don't know what his reaction will be. I imagine that he would feel a surge of excitement," he said.
As thrilling as it may sound to imagine Joker and Batman in the same room, it may never happen. Even the film's director Todd Phillips outright denied any chances of the two iconic DC characters clashing against each other. Why? Because the current version of the Batman does not exist in the same cinematic universe as the supervillain.
Phillips' Joker seems like an Elseworld title, a one-off movie which could be the start of another new cinematic universe called DC Dark. Currently, it is unknown if Phoenix would even reprise the role for a sequel and it would require the actor to undergo a dramatic body transformation again.
According to the Joker director, Phoenix dropped 52 pounds before the filming started. Fortunately, his efforts seem to have paid off as his performance has already been noted by many critics as Oscar-worthy.
On the other side of the DC films' division, Matt Reeves' Batman starring Robert Pattinson in the titular role is also inching closer to its production.
Joker hits theatres on October 4.
