Todd Phillips’ Joker is shaping up to be quite the experience.
Not only is the great Joaquin Phoenix bringing his unique talents to the Clown Prince of Crime, but Warner Bros. is backing the film up as a possible award contender. This week alone saw its placement in two film festivals – Toronto and Venice – and even a convention in Germany’s got people talking. Executive producer Michael E. Ulsan was in attendance, speaking extensively to the press about the upcoming film, and he said that it’s “unlike any comic book movie you’ve ever seen.”
During his time at the CCXP Cologne convention, the longtime Batman franchise producer suggested that the new picture will also be a breath of fresh air in the wake of ginormous, mass-producing entities like the MCU and DCEU.
Here’s how he put it:
“Todd Phillips is the filmmaker there, and Todd had an incredible vision for this. All I can tell you is, in my humble opinion, the world is getting a little oversaturated with comic book movies and TV everywhere we turn.
“When I pick up a newspaper and find out that, ‘Oh my goodness, on May 5th, 2027, Ant-Man 5 is gonna open, I better write that down in my calendar,’ the world’s gone a little bit haywire. So not being a great fan in any media of oversaturation, I love when something comes out and it’s different, and it’s unique.”
Ulsan pointed out that some films in the superhero genre have found their own voice to an extent, specifically citing James Gunn’s Guardian of the Galaxy and Tim Miller’s Deadpool. But he goes on to state that Joker‘s approach resembles a specific type of grim filmmaking.
“It’s maybe more like a Martin Scorsese, low-budget film noir crime drama, but I have all the faith in the world in Todd, the brilliantly talented Joaquin Phoenix, Robert De Niro. It’s an incredible, incredible group of people that’s brought this to life.”
So, with that input, we want to know your thoughts. Tell us, are you excited for Joker this October? Do you think it could possibly make a dent come awards season? Be sure to drop us a comment down below.