In the upcoming movie, ‘Joker,’ starring Joaquin Phoenix and directed by Todd Phillips, we get a new interpretation of the Dark Knight’s most famous nemesis and his descent into madness. The cast for ‘Joker’ also included veteran Robert De Niro, who plays Murray Franklin, the host of a talk show who earns goads Phoenix’s pre-Joker character Arthur Fleck and taunts him about his failed attempts at standup comedy.
During a recent appearance on ‘The Tonight Show’ with Jimmy Fallon, De Niro let slip that his Murray Franklin will be facing dire consequences for his jibes at Arthur Fleck. While he was discussing with Fallon what it was like to work with Phoenix, De Niro commented that while he liked working with Phoenix, he wasn’t too happy about what our favorite psycho clown did to his character:
“He was terrific. He was great yeah. I don’t like what he does to me but I like him a lot.”
In a fun meta sort of question, Fallon asked De Niro if it was difficult to play a talk show host, to which he again implied that his character will be meeting an unpleasant end at Joker’s hands:
“No, it was fun. I wasn’t happy with the way it turned out but… (laughs).”
Some sources are treating this like a revelation, and to them, I offer my largest possible eye-roll. Seriously? The moment I saw De Niro’s character in the picture releases and trailers I knew he’d be meeting a grisly end. This is the Joker we’re talking about, not Poison Ivy or the Riddler, of course everyone is going to die badly — that’s what makes him the Joker. I admit my predictions could be wrong, but I’ve read enough Batman to say I would definitely place my bets on a few people getting out of there unscathed.
‘Joker’ opens on October 4th – don’t miss it!
