A lot of fans where surprised when Warner Brothers announced that it was going to make a Joker origin movie outside of the DC Extended Universe starring Joaquin Phoenix. Sure, the film might have an Academy Award-winning actor as its lead, but fans were a bit confused why the studio would need another Joker movie outside the one it was making for DCEU's Jared Leto.
Despite the skepticism surrounding the entire affair, pop culture connoisseur and cult director Kevin Smith is nothing but impressed that Warner Brothers is actually working on a small-budget comic book origin movie.
Speaking on the most recent episode of his Hollywood Bable-On podcast, Smith decided to weigh in on the upcoming Joaquin Phoenix Joker origin movie, and it looks like the cult director likes what Warner Brothers is up to.
"I think what they're doing is smart. This is a cheap movie, it's $55 million. They're not spending - $55 [million] for a comic book property? That's very inexpensive. They're going Logan model, which is keep it low-budget and make it more adult."
Though fans have been criticizing the studio for how it's been handling its projects under its burgeoning superhero franchise, Smith appreciates its bold move, working on a low-budget origin movie outside of the DCEU.
"They're experimenting. You gotta applaud 'em for this. Everyone's always sh-tting on Warner Bros. going, 'You're f-cking up your movies!' And like, this is them trying a new direction where they're like, 'Look, obviously the extended universe stuff we're having a problem with. How about we just go back to the old way, which we used to do, where we just f-ckin' take material, give it to a director, and say f-ckin' go, and we don't worry about a fanbase and connecting the movies."
Smith has a pretty strong point. The studio's been struggling to get the DCEU on its feet despite the success of Wonder Woman, and somehow it seems like Warner Brothers is trying to loosen up and find a better way to produce better comic book movies. If Phoenix's The Joker does kick off, then the studio will have a new model to follow in terms of producing superhero films.
The Joker movie doesn't have a release date yet, but we'll let everyone know as soon as we get word.
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