A brand new Joker movie starring Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul star Bob Odenkirk has been removed from the programme of a film festival. We explain the background.
After the Joker hit starring Joaquin Phoenix, another film was set to see the light of day that takes a very unique approach to the origin story of the most iconic Batman villain.
At the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) that just took place, a film called The People’s Joker was in the programme, which also starred Bob Odenkirk. This title has now been removed and there is a concrete reason behind it.
Watch another video duel between the previous Joker stars here:
New Joker movie cancelled due to legal problems
As Deadline reports, The People’s Joker by Vera Drew has been cancelled from the TIFF schedule entirely. An official statement said there was a problem with the rights. Warner unsurprisingly objects to the DC brand surrounding Batman and Joker being used for a small independent film without being asked.
The storyline of the cancelled Joker film, much like the Todd Phillips version, is about an aspiring but unsuccessful stand-up comedian who falls prey to madness. The Vision of Vera Draw, on the other hand, is a transgender story and is classified as a queer coming-of-age film.
Here you can see a (pretty freaky) impression of The People’s Joker:
Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul star Bob Odenkirk also has a small role in The People’s Joker. Speaking to Collider Vera Drew about how the gig came about:
“I actually called [Tim] Heidecker and said, ‘Can you cash in one of your [favours]? I’m sure you have a limited amount of favours left with him.’ And he made it happen, and I had a phone call with Bob, and it was literally a half-hour phone call where we talked about the role, and that was really cool. “
“He listened to me blather on about all my lofty ideas about this illegal film, and his one request was, ‘I’ll do it. I want to do it. I think it’s great. I think you’re great, but make me look like shit somehow. Give me a big scar, something. Because I don’t want people to think, ‘Oh, it’s cool, Bob’s in it, blah, blah, blah. “
Because Vera Drew deliberately took the risk of making an illegal Joker movie without rights clearance, we’ll probably never get to see The People’s Joker. It’s a shame, really, because the wacky flick looks like an exciting alternative to the other DC projects.
