Okay, file this away under stories that are too weird to be fake news. Warner Bros. continues to feel their way through this whole cinematic universe thing, and sometimes it seems like they are swinging in the dark. Well they may have stumbled on something truly amazing. Deadline reports The Hangover's Todd Phillips will direct a spinoff featuring The Joker's origin story, and it will be produced by Martin Scorsese.
Scorsese? Yeah, Scorsese's making a DC Comics movie. You read that right.
This is apparently all part of Warner Bros.' attempt to launch a new line of films that can expand the DCU canon, although I doubt anybody would have predicted this. So will you see Jared Leto back in the green wig and makeup? Probably not. While he's expected to reprise the role in Suicide Squad 2 and Gotham City Sirens, this spinoff will go in a different direction and feature a much younger version of The Joker. It's being called a "hard-boiled crime film" set in the 1980s, which is certainly fertile ground for Scorsese. Phillips is currently working on the script alongside producer Scott Silver.
This is strange but also kind of exciting. This would be as clean a break from the "Marvel" strategy that we've seen, and could be the thing that finally gives DC Films its own signature. Obviously this is in the very earliest stages of development but it's going to have people buzzing until we can learn more.
