It may seem like an unlikely match — the director of one of the raunchiest of R-rated comedies and the clown prince of crime — but Variety reports that The Hangover director Todd Phillips is in talks to co-write and direct an origin movie focusing on Batman’s arch nemesis, The Joker.
According to Variety, legendary director and producer Martin Scorsese also is in talks about playing some role in the production of the film, said to take place in the early 1980s and to have the feel of a gritty crime drama.
No word yet on who might star in the movie. The most recent actor to play the Joker is Jared Leto, who played the villain in Suicide Squad and is expected to be back in the role for the Suicide Squad sequel, but, according to Variety, will not take part in the new film.