According to director Todd Phillips, Joaquin Phoenix never officially said "yes" to the role of Arthur Fleck in the widely successful Warner Bros. film, Joker.
Phillips recently spoke to the LA Times about pursuing Phoenix for the role of Joker, saying it wasn't an idea the actor was too interested in at first. "But the more I got to know him, the more I hung out with him, and we spent a lot of time talking about what the movie will look and feel like, and then one day he magically showed up. He never said yes. He just one day showed up to a wardrobe fitting. … It was an incredible partnership."
Joker would go on to be one of the most successful comic book-based films, recently making over $1 billion at the global box office. The film already received four Golden Globe nominations and is expected to receive a few Oscar nominations.
There is no official word on if Joker will receive a sequel, though Todd Phillips has mentioned he is open to the idea if Joaquin Phoenix will return.
Directed by Todd Phillips, Joker stars Joaquin Phoenix, Robert De Niro, Zazie Beetz, Bill Camp, Frances Conroy, Brett Cullen, Glenn Fleshler, Douglas Hodge, Marc Maron, Josh Pais and Shea Whigham. It will be available on digital HD on Dec. 17 and Blu-ray and DVD on Jan. 7.