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Frances Conroy is in talks to play the future Clown Prince of Crime’s mother in DC’s Joker<\/a> origin movie. Joaquin Phoenix is starring in the film as the man who would be Joker, with Todd Phillips (The Hangover, War Dogs) directing and cowriting the script alongside Scott Silver (The Fighter).<\/p>\n Phillips’ Joker movie has started to come together quickly since Phoenix was confirmed to star<\/a>, just a couple weeks back. The film is now set to begin production in New York this September, with an official October 2019 release date<\/a> target. In addition to being a lower-budgeted affair compared to DC’s other recent big screen ventures, Joker will take place outside of the DC Films or Worlds of DC<\/a> continuity, and instead serve as the first release for a separate banner featuring one-off, non-canon DC adaptations. Robert DeNiro is now formally in talks<\/a> to join the Joker\u00a0cast and he’s not the only prestigious name circling a supporting role in the movie, either.<\/p>\n Related: How Joker Will Differ From Other Comic Book Movies<\/a><\/p>\n According to The Wrap<\/a>, Conroy is now in negotiations to play the future Joker’s mother, Penny, in Phillips’ DC movie. Penny is described in the\u00a0leaked Joker casting breakdown<\/a> as a 60-74 year old woman whose health is fading to the point that she’s practically bed-ridden in her Lowest East Side apartment. The character description further reveals that Penny is “obsessed with her former employer” and struggling to accept her gloomy fate, when her grown son (Phoenix) moves back in with her. It\u00a0was also\u00a0reported that France McDormand passed on the role of Penny<\/a>, earlier this month.<\/p>\n In addition to DeNiro and Conroy, Deadpool 2 and Atlanta’s\u00a0Zazie Beetz is in talks to costar in Joker<\/a> as a single mom who catches the eye of Phoenix’s proto-Joker. The latter himself is reportedly a tragic protagonist reminiscent of DeNiro’s Travis Bickle from Taxi Driver, in the sense that\u00a0he aspires\u00a0to do good but is eventually consumed by his personal demons. Phillips’ film\u00a0has been described as a gritty character\u00a0study\u00a0for related reasons, as it explores the events that push Phoenix’s would-be hero over the edge and ultimately transform\u00a0him into\u00a0one of Batman’s greatest enemies.<\/p>\n Golden-Globe winner Conroy is no stranger to dark character-focused genre fare either, as evidenced by her celebrated work on shows like Six Feet Under and American Horror Story<\/a>. In general, the casting and descriptions of Joker’s plot and characters suggest that Phillips’ DC adaptation\u00a0will push even further into the realm of grounded storytelling than such\u00a0mold-breaking\u00a0superhero comic book movies\u00a0as Logan before it. Who knows: if all goes well, Joker could end up being a legitimate awards season contender, the way it’s taking shape.<\/p>\n MORE: Every Joker Origin Movie Update You Need to Know<\/a><\/p>\n Source: The Wrap<\/a><\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/static0.srcdn.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Batman-Joaquin-Phoenix-as-Joker.jpg\")
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