Joker

DC and Warner Bros.’ upcoming ‘Joker’ film is set at some point in the late ’70s or early ’80s and now director Todd Phillips is letting on to why that is.  The bulk of the most significant character studies which were released in Phillips’ lifetime that he has enjoyed were released in this time, and since ‘Joker’ is really a character study of Arthur Fleck, the man who will become the Clown Prince of Crime, this led him to this time period.

According to Phillips:

“One reason was to separate it, quite frankly, from the DC Universe when I pitched it to Warner Brothers and handed the script in. To sort of make it clear, “This isn’t f***ing with anything you have going on.” This is like a separate universe, so much so, it takes place in the past before everything else.

Another reason is because, tonally, the movie is very much a character study. I’m a little older than you, but the same movies we grew up on and loved. And you go, “God, those movies don’t get made as much anymore.” They get made as characters studies, but, you know… Social Network is a great one, There Will Be Blood is probably the best in the last 20 years of character studies. But in the 70s and 80s, they were much more frequent. So, in a weird way, it was also just an homage to that time. We’re making a movie that feels like that, so why not set it there.”

So there you have it! Due to the nature of what Phillips was trying to accomplish, he wanted it to be a partial tribute to the movies he loved growing up.

Do you feel that the movie being framed as a character study will help ‘Joker’? Is the time period the perfect place to do a character study of the Clown Prince of Crime? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

‘Joker’ will be laughing into your local theater on October 4th, 2019!

 

Source: Screen Rant