20 Jul – Sounds like love is in the air for the Prince of Darkness. Reportedly, an actress is now in talks to star opposite Joaquin Phoenix in his standalone "Joker" movie as the titular villain's love interest. The actress in question is none other than 27-year-old German-American Zazie Beetz. The Hollywood Reporter describes her role in the movie, should she accept it, as a single mother who catches the interest of the Joker. Superhero movie fans would recognise Beetz as Domino from this year's "Deadpool 2". Her other acting credits include playing Dana in "Geostorm" and starring as Van in TV series "Atlanta". She is also currently working on "Pale Blue Dot" with Natalie Portman and "Against All Enemies" with Kirsten Stewart; both projects started filming last month in the US.
So far no other names have been revealed for "Joker". The standalone origin project from Warner Bros., set to be helmed by "The Hangover" director Todd Phillips, has set a release date for October 2019 and will begin filming this September in New York. Phoenix's "Joker" will be set in the same universe as the Jared Leto-starring Joker spinoff movie but there will be no connection between the two as the former falls under DCEU's new origins banner, allowing different actors to play the same roles without any overlap. (Photo source: Dark Horizons)