Joker Origin Movie Casts Alec Baldwin as Batman's Father: Report

The standalone Joker movie has added Alec Baldwin to its growing cast, according to a new report. Headed by Joaquin Phoenix as the Joker himself, it also includes Deadpool 2’s Zazie Beetz, Robert De Niro, Frances Conroy, and GLOW star Marc Maron. Filming is set to begin on September 10, with a release slated for October 2019.

Deadline brings word that the multi-Emmy-winning Baldwin has landed a supporting role in the Joker movie as Thomas Wayne, who is the father of Bruce Wayne aka Batman in the DC comics. Warner Bros. has offered no comment.

As everyone knows well by this point thanks to several Batman adaptations, Thomas Wayne and his wife Martha were murdered on the streets of Gotham City in the company of their son Bruce, which pushes the young kid into fighting crime. The character was introduced to the page in 1939 by Batman co-creators Bob Kane and Bill Finger, Joker co-creator Jerry Robinson, and Flash co-creator Gardner Fox.

In film, Thomas Wayne was most recently played by Jeffrey Dean Morgan in 2016’s Zack Snyder-directed Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. If you’re wondering why he’s not been asked to reprise his role, that's because the Joker movie is not part of the DC film universe that encompasses Justice League, Wonder Woman, and others. It’s also why Jared Leto, who played Joker in Suicide Squad, will continue to do so in future DC instalments.

Directed by Todd Phillips (The Hangover), who also serves as co-writer alongside Scott Silver (The Fighter), Joker stars Beetz as Sophie Dumond, “a single mother who catches the attention of the Joker”; De Niro as a talk-show host “who plays an instrumental part in the Joker's origin story”; Conroy as Joker’s mother Penny, and Maron in an undisclosed role.

Joker is slated to release October 4, 2019. Around that, the DC film universe continues with Aquaman in December, Shazam! in April 2019, and Wonder Woman 1984 in November 2019.