The cast of the upcomingJokerorigin movie continues to grow as production soldiers on, with a couple of key additions having been revealed. The origin movie for DC’s Clown Prince of Crime has castDante Pereira-Olsonand Douglas Hodge in the roles of a young Bruce Wayne and Alfred Pennyworth, respectively. While this may not be a Batman movie, all of the key players are certainly moving into place for this one.
According to a new report, Dante Pereira-Olson has been tapped to play ayounger version of Bruce WayneinJoker, who ultimately goes on to become Batman in the DC universe. This isn’t terribly surprising, as Brett Cullen had previously been cast in the role of Thomas Wayne, Bruce’s father. Originally, that role was supposed to be played by Alec Baldwin before he had to step aside for cited scheduling reasons. For the time being, Martha Wayne, Bruce’s mother, hasn’t yet been cast. Pereira-Olson previously starred alongside Joaquin Phoenix, who is on boardJokerin the title role, in this year’sYou Were Never Really Here, making for a rather interesting reunion.
Douglas Hodge, who people may recognize from this year’s thrillerRed Sparrowor the sci-fi seriesBlack Mirror, has also been cast in the role of Alfred Pennyworth. Alfred is an important character within the Batman lore, as the loyal butler to the Wayne family and the eventual guardian of Bruce Wayne, after his parents are gunned down in an alley, which ultimately puts him on the path to becoming the Caped Crusader. It isn’t clear at the present time how much either character will be included, butJokeris going to very much be an origin story for the legendary villain, so it’s likely they will be relatively small, supporting players.
As for what this means forJoker? It’s almost impossible to say at this point. Todd Phillips (The Hangover) is in the director’s chair for theDC Comics adaptation, which will take place outside of the universe occupied by movies likeJustice LeagueandWonder Woman. Instead, this movie will stand on its own and will be able to take some serious liberties with its story. Hence, that may be why we have such a massive age gap between Bruce Wayne and The Joker.
At this point, it’s hard to know what to expect. The set photos we’ve seen have only raised more questions mostly. Not to mention that the Adam West Batmobile was spotted near the movie’s filming location recently, which only added to the puzzling nature of the project. How can the Batmobile exist ifBruce Wayne’s parentsare still alive? Precious few answers for now. Other cast members include Zazie Beetz, Bill Camp, Frances Conroy, Glenn Fleshler, Marc Maron, Josh Pais, Shea Whigham and Oscar-winner Robert De Niro.Jokeris set to arrive in theaters on June 21, 2025. This news was first reported byComicbook.com.
