Child actor Dante Pereira-Olson has been cast as the future Batman, with Douglas Hodge playing his loyal butler.
- Oct 24, 2018
AceShowbiz - "Joker" is adding more popular DC characters to the fold and the latest to be confirmed to appear in the movie are Bruce Wayne and Alfred Pennyworth. According to ComicBook.com, child actor Dante Pereira-Olson has been tapped to play young Bruce / future Batman. The role will reunite Pereira-Olson with Joaquin Phoenix after they starred together in 2017's psychological thriller "You Were Never Really Here".
Meanwhile, Douglas Hodge has been tapped to portray Alfred, Bruce's loyal butler and eventual guardian. Pereira-Olson and Hodge join Brett Cullen, who was earlier cast as Bruce's father, Thomas Wayne, the role which originally belonged to Alec Baldwin before he left the project due to scheduling issues.
Set in the 1980s, "Joker" will feature the events before both of Bruce's parents were murdered. The origin movie is described as a gritty character study of the signature villain of Batman, and also a broader cautionary tale of a man disregarded by society who becomes the ultimate supervillain. Joaquin Phoenix stars as the Batman villain whose real name is Arthur Fleck and is depicted as a failed stand-up comedian who goes insane and becomes a murdering psychopath.
Earlier this month, a Batmobile was spotted being driven to the filming location in Newark, NJ. The Batmobile that was used for the filming of "Joker" looks similar to the original Batmobile which appeared on the 1960s TV show starring Adam West.
While now it's confirmed that Bruce Wayne will appear in the movie, it still doesn't explain why the Batmobile was needed on the set. Since the movie is set at the time when Bruce's father is still alive, that means Batman hasn't existed.
Todd Phillips serves as director and writes the script, in addition to producing the movie along with Martin Scorsese and Emma Tillinger Koskoff. Zazie Beetz, Frances Conroy, Marc Maron, Robert De Niro, Shea Whigham, Glenn Fleshler, Bill Camp, Douglas Hodge and Josh Pais also star in the film, which is slated to arrive in the U.S. on October 4, 2019.
