Another day, another new tidbit aboutTodd Phillips' increasingly bonkersJokerorigin movie. We’vealready gotten a glimpseofJoaquin Phoenixas the man who will become the Clown Prince of Crime, Arthur Fleck—that’s A. Fleck, for those keeping track at home—and now, with production officially underway, we have a full cast list. The previously reported names are all on there—Frances Conroy,Zazie Beetz,Marc Maron, Robert De Niro—but the list comes with a few surprises, including stellar character actorShea Whigham,Barrystand-outGlenn Fleshler, andThe Looming TowerstarBill Camp.
No character descriptions are available, but that’s a loveably kooky cast Phillips—and co-producerBradley Cooper, who worked with Phillips on theHangovertrilogy—has assembled here. Whigham is one of those faces that pops up in everything—Kong: Skull Island,Vice Principals,Boardwalk Empire—and consistently steals the show. (His Moe Dimmick was a rare bright spot in a direFargoseason 3.) Those who followset videos from the bushesknew Fleshler—a hulking actor who was effectively terrifying for totally opposite reasons in bothTrue DetectiveandBarry—was onboard, seemingly playing a clown who encounters a particularly giddy Arthur Fleck. Camp, who you’re able to see in Hulu’s mission-to-mars seriesThe First, basically already played a down-on-his-luck Gotham City detective in HBO’sThe Night Of. (Harvey Bullock, anyone?)
Rounding out the list of new names isDouglas Hodge(Penny Dreadful) andJosh Pais(Ray Donovan).LostalumBrett Cullenwasalso announced todayas the movie’s new Thomas Wayne, replacingAlec Baldwin.
Phillips’ film, which he co-wrote withScott Silver(The Fighter), has been described as a lower-budget, noir-ish take that follows Fleck, “a man disregarded by society,” in a story that is “not only a gritty character study but also a broader cautionary tale.”
Jokeris currently filming in New York City and is set for an October 2019 release date.
