Warner Bros. Discovery reportedly wants Joker director Todd Phillips to do more for the newly-merged company’s DC film franchise.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, sources say that Warner Bros. Discovery boss David Zaslav has reached out to Phillips about taking on a new role at DC Films. Should Phillips accept, he would potentially become an “advisor,” though would not “serve in an executive capacity.” However, one source explains that while Zaslav and Phillips have “discovered a rapport,” Phillips — despite having directed Joker — is “not an expert” on the larger DC Universe.
This news comes after Variety reported that prior to Discovery’s acquisition of Warner Bros. being finalized, Zaslav had “vetted candidates” in an attempt to find “someone to serve as a creative and strategic czar similar to what Marvel has in Kevin Feige.”
Much like how Disney and Marvel Studios have the Feige-guided Marvel Cinematic Universe, Warner Bros. and DC have the DC Extended Universe, which now extends to HBO Max. That said, while DC Films President Walter Hamada oversees the studio’s big-screen and streaming releases, the DCEU has long lacked a single, guiding creative voice. While the MCU is notable for being rather tightly-woven, most DCEU projects are only loosely connected to one another.
In fact, some recent DC films are even completely self-contained, including Phillips’ Joker. Nevertheless, the film was a massive success, which could serve to explain why Zaslav is courting Phillips for an advisor role at DC.
Directed by Phillips from a script he co-wrote with Scott Silver, Joker released in theaters in October 2019. Set in the early 1980s and starring Joaquin Phoenix as a new version of Batman’s arch-nemesis, the film chronicles how Arthur Fleck — a failed comedian suffering from mental illness — became the Clown Prince of Crime.
Upon its release, Joker became the highest-grossing R-rated film of all time, as well as the first R-rated film to cross the $1 billion mark at the box office. The film was also met with mixed, though generally positive reviews. For his performance as Arthur Fleck, Phoenix won the Oscar for Best Actor at the 92nd Academy Awards.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
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