Warner Bros. and DC hit the ball way out of the park with Todd Phillips’ “Joker” starring Joaquin Phoenix, which was surprising considering how dark and violent the Rated-R movie is in light of comparing it to a normal superhero flick.
It was the biggest October opening of all time in North America and it has made $213 million in only 13 days, but it has also made $392 million with a total international box office of $606 million. That’s unprecedented and is on its way to becoming the biggest Rated-R film ever.
But Warner Bros. is keeping the momentum. And now the upcoming “The Batman” directed by Matt Reeves just found its new villain to pair alongside Robert Pattinson in the titular coveted role.
The most disappointing part about the new DC movie universe is that some of these films will operate individually of each other. Upon Ben Affleck dropping out of the universe, it threw a major wrench in the plan for the studio.
It was already announced that Joaquin Phoenix’s “Joker” will be the only film made with the Academy Award nominated actor as its star. That means further down the road we’ll have yet another actor playing the Joker in the Pattinson Batman universe.
But that also leaves questions about Gal Gadot’s Diana Prince, i.e. Wonder Woman. The new film entitled “Wonder Woman 1984” plans to hit theaters June 5th, 2020. Will Wonder Woman be a part of this universe?
Warner Bros. claims to have announced “Justice League Part Two” on IMDB with Zack Snyder at the helm, but it is more likely things have changed significantly since then. It would be jarring to see Robert Pattinson replace Affleck and then pretend nothing has changed, right?
Seemingly, Warner Bros and DC are taking things one step at a time instead of putting all of their eggs in one basket.
“The Batman” is full steam ahead though. They’re making moves right and left in casting.
At first, it was reported Oscar–nominated actor Jonah Hill was in talks to play an undisclosed villain. Most people speculated it was the Penguin but it turned out to be the Riddler.
Not only was it rumored Hill wanted a whopping $10 million to play the villain, but he also wanted to rewrite the script with his good friend Seth Rogan to play the Penguin. For a frame of reference, Pattinson’s salary is less than $5 million and he’s playing the titular role.
On the same day news broke that Hill was out, just a few hours later we learned actor Paul Dano would take on the Riddler. If you’re not familiar with Dano’s career, he’s most famous for playing twin brothers Paul and Eli Sunday in “There Will be Blood” and also co-starred in “Little Miss Sunshine,” “Prisoners” and recently in “Escape at Dannemora.”
Dano doesn’t have any Academy Award nominations and he may not be a household name like Jonah Hill, but there’s no question he’s a way better actor. Anybody with eyes and ears can tell you that. Also, Warner Bros. saved millions by casting Dano instead of Hill.
It was also announced earlier this week that Zoe Kravitz – daughter of legendary rock legend Lenny Kravitz – will take on Catwoman. Michelle Pfeiffer played the character in Tim Burton’s “Batman Returns” and she’s already giving the young actress some hilarious advice.
“The Batman” is slated to hit theaters June 25th, 2021.
Michelle Pfeiffer’s advice for @ZoeKravitz in her new role as #Catwoman might surprise you 🤣🤣 pic.twitter.com/1LcZ0EIqFC
— Good Morning America (@GMA) October 15, 2019