The Joker Movie Casts A New Thomas Wayne After Alec Baldwin Quit

Batman finally has a dad… again. After Alec Baldwin dropped out of the role of Thomas Wayne in the upcoming Joker standalone movie starring Joaquin Phoenix, director Todd Phillips had a tall order ahead of him. Who would they find that could play the patriarch of the Wayne family?

According to ComicBook.com, that person is none other than former Devious Maids and Person of Interest star Brett Cullen. Interestingly, this won't be the actor's first time in a Batman universe film. He previously played a congressman in Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight Rises. Additionally, he had the role of Barton Blaze--father to Nicolas Cage's Johnny--in Ghost Rider.

Baldwin cited scheduling issues when he announced he was no longer playing the role, days after it was reported that he had been cast. At the time, The Hollywood Reporter claimed that this movie's version of Thomas would somewhat resemble Donald Trump in the 1980s, casting the Wayne Enterprises head honcho as a "cheesy and tanned businessman."

The news of Cullen's casting comes on the heels of Phillips sharing the first look at Phoenix's titular character before he goes full-on psychotic clown. It's been rumored that the character's name is Arthur Fleck, with the movie telling the origin story of the clown prince of crime.

Joining Phoenix and Cullen in the film are Deadpool 2 breakout star Zazie Beetz, Robert De Niro, Marc Maron, and Frances Conroy. The standalone Joker movie currently has no release date, though production is underway.