While it’s clear the works of Martin Scorsese were a heavy influence on Todd Phillips’ Joker film, the legendary director didn’t actually contribute anything to it. You may recall that wasn’t always the plan. When the film was first revealed in 2017, it was thought Scorsese would be on board as a producer, with his films serving as an inspiration. That ended up not happening, but according to THR Scorsese’s involvement was going to be significantly greater.
According to the report, Scorsese may have had eyes on directing Joker himself. Scorsese’s involvement is what really got the ball rolling, but it was Phillips’ original pitch that won Warner Bros. over and they went with that. However, as THR accurately notes, Scorsese doesn’t typically attach himself to produce anything unless he has initial plans to direct it himself. Scorsese ultimately decided to take his name off of Joker entirely.
For what it’s worth, Scorsese’s camp denies all of this, saying he “had no intention to direct Joker” and only “considered producing.”
Warner Bros. has refused to comment, and what would be the point if they did? To get fans wondering what might have been? Not a good idea.
The timing of this story is interesting as Scorsese is under fire from fans for attacking Marvel films. Maybe he was just a DC Comics guy all along?
