[UPDATE] Alec Baldwin Cast as Bat-Dad Thomas Wayne in Todd Phillip’s ‘Joker’ Origin Movie

UPDATE: Alec Baldwin is no longer attached to play Thomas Wayne in Todd Phillips’ The Joker, according to an interview with USA Today (via Deadline). The actor is citing scheduling conflict as his main reason for bowing out of the project. “I’m sure there are 25 guys who can play that part,” Baldwin added.

Here’s the original story:

We’re finally seeing a Wayne in Todd Phillips’ standalone Joker movie! But it’s not Bruce himself, though. Alec Baldwin officially joins Joaquin Phoenix in the film as Batman’s father, billionaire Thomas Wayne.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Baldwin’s Thomas Wayne is described as “a cheesy and tanned businessman who is more in the mold of a 1980s Donald Trump.” Of course, Baldwin is no stranger to playing Trump in his many spoofs on Saturday Night Live, which ultimately gave him an Emmy nomination.

Phoenix’s take on Gotham’s Clown Prince of Crime will be a darker portrayal of the character, and will reportedly draw inspiration from Alan Moore’s 1988 graphic novel “The Killing Joke,” in which the Joker’s dark origins are explored. The film is “a dark character study than a crime thriller” that also draws themes from Martin Scorsese’s Taxi Driver and The King of Comedy. With a small budget of $55 million, the standalone Joker movie will not fall under the current brand of DC films, more commonly referred to as the DC Extended Universe. In it, Jeffrey Dean Morgan portrayed Thomas Wayne in Zack Snyder’s Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice.

Baldwin’s casting comes two weeks before the scheduled production start for the Joker movie. Among the other previously-announced actors are Robert DeNiro, Deadpool 2’s Zazie Beetz, and Glow’s Marc Maron.

The as-yet-untitled Joker movie is currently slated for an October 4, 2019 release date.