This evening, The Hollywood Reporter broke the news that Alec Baldwin has officially joined the production of Todd Phillips' Joker, the forthcoming "Joker solo movie" set to star Joaquin Phoenix as the titular crown prince of crime. They go on to specify that Baldwin will be playing the role of Thomas Wayne.
That name oughtta ring a bell! That's Batman's dad, and you've seen him murdered in a number of TV shows, movies, animated series and comics over the years. Chances are, however, that you've never seen a Thomas Wayne quite like the one being described for Joker.
Take it away, THR:
"Baldwin has been tapped for the role of Thomas Wayne, who in Batman lore is the father of Bruce Wayne, the future caped crusader.
...sources say the script paints Thomas Wayne as a cheesy and tanned businessman who is more in the mold of a 1980s Donald Trump."
Yeah, dunno what to say about all that, gang.
We already knew Joker was going to take some liberties with DC canon, that the film intended to function outside the already-established (and slowly course-correcting!) DCU, that the project would basically be an elaborate game of "What If?" revolving around the Joker's origin story. We expected a few curveballs, in other words. What we didn't expect was Thomas Wayne possibly appearing in the film as a blow-dried, cheeseball Donald Trump knock-off.
That's certainly...a choice.
We're on record as being very, very curious about this movie. I'm not sure this information changes anything on that front. In point of fact, for as annoying as the above character description is, this development may have us more curious than ever. I mean, what the hell is this movie up to?
Sound off with your best guesses in the space provided below, and stay tuned for more on Joker as it becomes available.