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Leonardo DiCaprio Could Play Joker In Origin Movie

Warner Bros. is reportedly eyeing DiCaprio to become its Clown Prince of Crime.

94 Comments

Recently, we learned that a new Joker origin movie is in the works with legendary filmmaker Martin Scorsese involved as a producer. Now, a new report has more exciting and interesting news about the film in the area of potential casting.

Sources told The Hollywood Reporter that Oscar winning actor Leonardo DiCaprio is being eyed to play the Joker. No offer has been made to DiCaprio, so this is not a done deal by any stretch; THR also reports that Scorsese's deal is not finalised.

It sounds like a longshot for DiCaprio to come aboard, but it's an exciting prospect to think about regardless. "The chances of landing DiCaprio could be slim to none. But the attempt in itself sends a signal to talent that Warners wants to hire serious filmmakers to make serious films," THR reported.

Scorsese and DiCaprio have worked together on many big-name movies including The Departed, Gangs of New York, The Aviator, and The Wolf of Wall Street. The new Joker movie is to be directed by The Hangover's Todd Phillips.

Jared Leto played the Joker in Suicide Squad and will reprise the role in its sequel, as well as a spinoff movie, but he won't play the role in the new origin film. Sources told THR that Leto made his unhappiness known to his CAA agents about the possibility of there being two Jokers.

The untitled Joker spinoff will be a "gritty and grounded hard-boiled crime film set in the early '80s Gotham City." Interestingly, WB is reportedly setting up the film not as a DC movie but rather like one of Scorsese's '80s-set movies like Raging Bull or Taxi Driver.

Phillips is writing the script alongside 8 Mile's Scott Silver. No release date has been set, and overall it still sounds like very early days.

Would you like to see DiCaprio play the Joker? Let us know in the comments below!

Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email news@gamespot.com

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Avatar image for illage2
illage2

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NOOOOOPPPEEEEE! Give us Jared Leto again he was pretty damned good as the joker.

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Xirtahm

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@illage2: Leto is a good actor, and I actually imagined him as a GREAT Joker.... but the Joker we got in Suicide Squad was not the Joker he should have been. It was good talent gone to waste, and this is solely blamed on the writing and directing. The Joker isn't a goth pimp.

If they keep Leto, they need to alter his character entirely, since many people disliked Suicide Squad's interpretation.... INCLUDING folks who enjoyed the movie. Otherwise, a recast is the most sensible option. :/

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dirthurts

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@illage2: No NO No No No NO NO no no no...no..........no....gawd no....

I'd rather never have a joker, ever again.

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Dev-RAiD1

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@dirthurts: the joker we got in suicide squad wasnt the joker leto wanted, theres a bunch of articles where he says this. i for one liked the take on the joker, sadistic, calculated, homicidal nutball....isnt that what the joker is?

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Dudeman315

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@dev-raid1: Not really, the Joker's defining traits are narcissism, insanity, and his need to defeat Batman. Basically everything Leto was not, you could have replaced Suicide Squad Joker with any random mobster and no one would have noticed (maybe questioning his relationship to Harley, but the REAL Joker doesn't care about her anyways). He was the worst thing the Joker could be, boring.

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dirthurts

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@dev-raid1: Sure, but what the joker isn't, is a peacock, a thug, a "gangster". He's something far less generic.

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KillerCondoms

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Edited By KillerCondoms

Joker doesn't need a origin movie, he needs to stay mysterious in his own way of course.

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nparks

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@killercondoms: Joker said his origin story should be multiple choice, so a Joker origin movie shouldn't make much sense and should be more of a surrealist depiction. They ought to get David Lynch to direct. If they're sticking with Scorsese/DiCaprio, then Shutter Island is the most obvious influence to rely on.

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maitkarro

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@killercondoms: I've already seen his origin in one of the Batman's animated movies, his wife was pregnant, he was having some money issues he needed the money so he was doing some fake gigs for the gangsters, his wife died in an accident, he fought the batman in of the gigs and fell into an acid pool, so basically just he had bad streak of luck and batman was the cause he was created, he was an innocent man who was in the wrong place in the wrong time.

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KillerCondoms

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@maitkarro: Wasn't that The Killing Joke?

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Pelezinho777

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I thought he already played The Joker in Revenant.

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SythisTaru

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Producer = pay money and have 0 involvement.

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Dev-RAiD1

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@SythisTaru: producers are the say so, not just the capital....a producer could shut a movie down or give the insight to make a movie shine. they dont just sit there

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maitkarro

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@dev-raid1: Producers are like sponsors.

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Dev-RAiD1

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@maitkarro: i know what they are, they also can pull funds and shut a production down, they hold alot of weight

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deactivated-5afeea4d8be41

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@SythisTaru: You clearly have no idea what a producer does.

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Nabinator

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@SythisTaru: No that's executive producer

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zoniax2

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No problem with DiCaprio, but this is one movie that never needs to be made. Nolan said it best, "The Joker is a force of nature, he's always just existed".

None of this. Stop forcing your tired suckage on us, Hollywood.

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Dev-RAiD1

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@zoniax2: this is why i dont watch gotham, i dont need to see our favorite comic book characters as kids with issues trying to explain the reasons they are the way they are.....to me they just are, no explanation needed

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bignick217

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Edited By bignick217

@dev-raid1: I thought the exact same thing when I first heard of it. It's not what you think. It's not really about the villains and heroes as kids, although they do make appearances. And quite a few of the villains that appear in it, or become the villains we know, are already adults in the show (Like the Penguine, Victor Zazz, and the Riddler). To an extent, it is about Bruce's childhood, but not so much in the way you're thinking. The show is mostly about Gordon when he was a beat cop, and in turn, a detective. About the criminal underbelly of the city before (for the most part) the rise of the super villains. I was really skeptical, but gave it a shot and was very surprised that I actually really liked it. And the guy they got to play the penguin is perfect. I have never seen a better portrayal of the penguin. He is now the penguin to me. He's that good. The whole show is surprisingly very well done from top to bottom. It was a hard sell for me too, but now I have to admit, I'm a fan now.

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LeviathanXX

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@dev-raid1: But Gotham is excellent though, the only kids are Selina, Ivy and Bruce which makes sense. It does however explain why Gotham has supervillains and by extension will need Batman.

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Nabinator

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@zoniax2: The Joker's origin has never been clear for this very reason

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DarthRevenX

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there was nothing wrong with Jared Leto, it's just they used him wrong.....Joker shouldn't have even been in Suicide Squad.....as for this Joker and Harley movie, not interested.....

reboot DCEU already.......wipe the slate clean.....do sh**t the right way FFS......

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Nabinator

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@darthrevenx: They may be nothing wrong with Jared Leto, but Suicide Squad's intepretation of the Joker himself was terrible. So crime punk gangasta with a clown aethestic. Certainly no menacing psychotic genius like Nolan's and many of the animated series.

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DarthRevenX

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@nabinator: blame WB, they're the ones who are being fracking retarded.....i keep saying Joker had no place in Suicide Squad.....it was pointless to have him in especially the way they did it....

all of these fracking movies suck though.....or are good but have the dubious dishonor of having Snyder's aesthetic attached....

man Of Steel wasn't really horrible, a lot of it made sense but.....Superman didn't have time to train his powers so he ended up causing more damage than anything, then the bigger mistake was not getting the people out of harms way before Zod could threaten em....also they kinda fracked up how Superman works....

Superman can survive in space FFS, he's solar powered, and fragments of his homeworld can depower or kill him and there's more kryptonite than just the green stuff....there's red, green and gold and more I think....the phantom zone they royally fracked up....now there's no prison that they can use to end some of the dangerous villains....that was always the cool thing about it, you could throw someone in there but they could return later.....it was never a permanent death.....and how Christopher Reeves defeated Zod in Superman 2 was epic.....

they fracked up Green Lantern, they had the right actor for it it's just it wasn't written that well and the villain was the ultimate enemy, it's like going right into Thanos or Galactus or Darkseid or Brainiac at the outset and you can't do that, Joker transcends typical villainy, he's an ultimate villain but he's also so iconic that to do Batman without him is blasphemy.....anyways GL should have been like first Flight, Sinistro is unsure of humanity and puts Hal to the test but in the mission hal learns Sinistro has other ambitions and brings his concerns before the guardians who at first dismiss him but when another senior lantern takes an interest in what Hal is saying they investigate further and gather more tangible evidence which ends with Sinistro's dismissal and his vow for vengeance.....then they could go right into Sinistro Corps and the war of light....then Blackest Night.....honestly I'd just wanna see a live action Laira in action lolz [I loved her in Emerald Knights]

With BVS absolutely nothing in it makes sense.....the editing is bad, the acting is bad, the action is bad, there's no redeeming aspect of it.....and Justice League looks to be about as meh as Suicide Squad was....

Wonder Woman could be a really good flick IDK but based on what I've seen it still has Snyder's overcast weather and overly dark world and that alone turns me off to it.....

Justice League looks terrible, Cyborg looks wrong, Flash looks wrong, and the main villain is a henchman???? ugh and I bet he has henchmen too so what does that make them? sub-henchmen??? ugh

i'm a henchman of a henchman......

yo dawg, I heard you like henchmen so I put a henchman in your henchman.....

pick me, i'm full of tinier men......ugh

I have no real respect for what WB is doing with DC lately......love the TV shows and animation but F the DCEU.....

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Nabinator

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@darthrevenx: Haha, damn long comment, but I agree with it. Yes, WB's direction in these areas is bizzare. Snyder's overcast dark world - yes, totally agree with that. Why is that a thing? Might work for Batman, not the other heroes. I don't have much optimism for Justice League coming up. Not with Snyder behind the helm

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dirthurts

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@nabinator: I agree. He just looked like that punk tenager down the road who thinks he's tough but keeps tripping over his shorts because he can't keep them up, dressed like the joker on Halloween. I honestly thought the twist of the movie was that he was going to be a bad impersonator, and the real joker was going to show up to show him what was what.

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lonewolf1044

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@dirthurts: I believe over time they just lost focus and deviated so much some that read the comics and followed it through the years just gave up.

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lorddaggeroff

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Thank god Leonardo decrapio isn't President because he is worse then trump.

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DarthRevenX

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@lorddaggeroff: you mean thank gods Justin Beiber isn't president cus he's worse than Trump...there i fixed your comment.....

this comment now approved by -DarthRevenX-

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jhawk

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@lorddaggeroff: Sorry but if you believe that you're REALLY an absolute idiot.

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Runeweaver

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@lorddaggeroff: what?

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Nabinator

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@lorddaggeroff: This got political in here for no reason whatsoever

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effinjay

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Would be shocked if he does it,from what i have read,he only does rolls he really wants to do,money is never the reason why he takes a roll.

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jyml8582

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@effinjay: the only rolls I take are sushi rolls, and DON'T YOU DARE CALL THEM BAD

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EndofAugust

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Leo has a very broad range as an actor, if there's one person I would have confidence in to execute this type of role or really any role in general; it would be him.

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Cikatriz_ESP

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This could actually be the greatest thing ever.

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jyml8582

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I wouldn't mind, Leo might just be crazy enough for the role.

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gamingdevil800

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@jyml8582: His performance in Django Unchained does show he is good at playing the villain.

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Nabinator

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Edited By Nabinator

@gamingdevil800: Yeah, he was pretty intimidating in this

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Game4Fun33

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Ummmm no just no

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iandizion713

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Johnny Depp please.

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Xirtahm

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@iandizion713: Depp is very talented with what he's good at, but this isn't a role for him.

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dirthurts

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@iandizion713: No way. He has a very narrow set of abilities, and being intimidating isn't one of them. I like a lot of his movies, but he kind of always plays the same character.

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iandizion713

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@dirthurts: He was very intimidating in Black Mass.

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Nabinator

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@iandizion713: Johnny Depp is washed up

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