DC Movie Nooz: Alec Baldwin Quits Joker But Black Adam Still Alive

Joker

One day after THR reported that Alec Baldwin would be starring opposite Joaquin Phoenix in Todd Phillips‘ (The Hangover) Joker as a version of Thomas Wayne, aka Batman’s dad, that would not be the classic doctor-philanthropist of the comics, but “a cheesy and tanned businessman who is more in the mold of a 1980s Donald Trump,” Baldwin himself shot down the story in no uncertain terms.

Let me state, for the record, that I have NOT been hired to play a role in Todd Phillips’ JOKER as some Donald Trump manque.
That is not happening.
Not.
Happening.

— HABFoundation (@ABFalecbaldwin) August 29, 2018

Batman fans everywhere breathed a sigh of relief, assuming that the “fake news” of Baldwin’s hiring also meant that the “faux Donald” part of the story was also false. Unfortunately, Baldwin later revealed to USA Today that he actually was attached to the movie, but quit, meaning that the strange spin on Thomas Wayne might be a real thing.

I’m no longer doing that movie. I’m sure there are 25 guys who can play that part.

The movie, co-written by Phillips and Scott Silver, is set outside of the greater DC Cinematic Universe that includes Wonder Woman, Justice League and Suicide Squad, in which Jared Leto played the Crown Prince of Crime, a variation of the character that will continue into Suicide Squad 2 and a planned Joker-Harley Quinn movie with Margot Robbie. Robert De Niro, Mark Maron and Zazie Beetz have joined the cast in supporting roles.

Joker is slated to open in theaters on October 4, 2019.

Black Adam

Years before Zachary Levi landed the role of Captain Marvel, aka Shazam, the superpowered adult alter-ego of a teenage boy, in his own movie, Dwayne Johnson was chatting up a storm about bringing Shazam’s darker predecessor to life on the big screen in a Black Adam movie. While Shazam! is less than a year away, with already some magazine coverage and a costume display at Comic-Con 2018, all we have heard about Black Adam is that the Rock “feels like” it might go into production next year. But, that doesn’t mean that Black Adam is dead.  In fact, producer Hiram Garcia, recently assured Collider that the movie is “definitely happening.”

I’m really excited with the story we’ve crafted. Look, I’ve always been a huge comic book fan. I’ve always had this dream, I’ve always wanted to—You know, you kind of have like these goals of like, ‘One day I’d love to be able to do this and this,’ and making a superhero movie was definitely always one of my dreams. For the longest time, you know you kind of have this living superhero in Dwayne Johnson, so I was always trying to figure out what’s the perfect character that will kind of fit him and his look and his build and his kind of edge and the attitude he’s got.

Garcia said that the latest script by Adam Sztykiel has him “extremely excited,” but that it is in need of “some revisions.” He described himself as a “fanboy” and promised that the movie will “deliver on the goods.”

Images courtesy of DC Comics & Warner Bros.; Edits by Movie Nooz