Alec Baldwin is not going to star as Thomas Wayne in the upcoming Joker origin movie. News recently broke that Baldwin was set to play the father of Bruce Wayne, the young man who ultimately becomes Batman in the DC universe after his parents are gunned down in an alley, in the Warner Bros. production, which has Joaquin Phoenix on board in the title role. Now, in a pretty quick turn of events, Baldwin says that he’s no longer doing the movie.

Word of Alec Baldwin bailing on Joker first broke over on Twitter. The actor took to Twitter to declare that he had not been hired to play a role in
the movie. Initially, reports indicated that this particular portrayal of Thomas Wayne would see the character as an 80s business Tycoon, similar to
Donald Trump during that time period. That was a sticking point in Baldwin’s tweet, but also made it so his initial statement wasn’t totally clear.
Initially, there was some confusion, given the way he worded the statement. Was Alec Baldwin simply saying that he wasn’t hired to do a thinly-
veiled Donald Trump impersonation? That was what many suspected he may be saying. However, in an interview not long after, Baldwin
confirmed that he had indeed dropped out of the Joker origin movie, citing scheduling conflicts, but he wouldn’t get more specific than that.

So by the sound of things, Alec Baldwin was, at least for a brief time, indeed hired to play Thomas Wayne and then had to drop out. His casting made a great deal of sense, given the character description, and given that Baldwin has been nominated for two Emmys for his portrayal of President Trump on Saturday Night Live. At the present time, there’s no indication on who may be tapped to fill those shoes. Production is scheduled to begin in a little less than two weeks, so Warner Bros. will likely be quick to find a replacement.

In addition to Joaquin Phoenix, the cast includes Zazie Beetz, Frances Conroy, Marc Maron, Bryan Callen and Robert de Niro. Todd Phillips will direct from a script he co-wrote alongside Scott Silver. This movie will exist outside of the current live-action DC universe and will stand on its own. This could also open the door for similar, future DC movies that also take place outside of the established continuity of movies like Justice League and Wonder WomanJoker is set to hit theaters on October 4, 2019. This was previously reported by USA Today.

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Joker Loses Alec Baldwin Over Scheduling Issues