Recent reports indicated Marc Maron was under consideration for a role in the Joaquin Phoenix-starring Joker film, and the actor has now confirmed his addition to the cast. Filmmaker Todd Phillips is set to direct Joker, the latest addition to a varied portfolio which includes several turn-of-the-century bro-comedies like Road Trip, Old School, and The Hangover trilogy.

Phillips also helmed writing duties on the Borat film, as well as the Jonah Hill-starring biopic War Dogs back in 2016. Helming the Joker project marks a new foray for him into the genre of comic book films. And since the movie is slated to hit theaters in late 2019, the creative team behind the project is starting to ramp up pre-production by diving into casting, including going after actors and actresses such as Robert De Niro and Zazie Beets. Another person linked to the project has been Maron, who has now confirmed his casting in the film.

Marc Maron confirmed his Joker casting in a recent episode of the WTF Podcast, describing his surprise and elation at joining Phoenix and De Niro, a development which closely follows recent rumors that he was being courted for the film. On the podcast, he said: "It is true ladies and gentlemen, I have been added to the cast of the new Joker movie being directed by Todd Phillips, starring Joaquin Phoenix and Robert De Niro."


Joker looks to be set in the 1980s, and will tell the origin story of Batman’s most storied villain, although it remains separate from the ongoing DC film universe established around Justice League. The film will include the earlier days pre-empting the Joker becoming a proper criminal and villain, and reportedly feature his failing attempts at being a comedian, which makes Maron’s casting as a booking agent an alignment with the actor’s own lauded comedy background.

Maron's casting also gave the comedian an early look at the current draft of the script, and he commented on Joker's written treatment in his reveal: “Honestly, it's a pretty great script.” He also gushed over the unforeseen opportunity to be featured in a film alongside Robert De Niro, who will be playing a talk show host and the employer for Maron's character. While the specifics of the story are currently under wraps, these two characters will apparently be crucial to Joker's evolution into the Clown Prince of Crime. For now, Todd Phillips’ film appears to be taking a radically different direction than Jared Leto's version of the supervillain - and audiences shouldn't have to wait too long to get their first glimpse at the character since Joker is slated to hit theaters next October.

Release Dates:

. Aquaman (2018) release date: Dec 21, 2018
. Shazam! (2019) release date: Apr 05, 2019
. Joker (2019) release date: Oct 04, 2019
. Wonder Woman 2 (2019) release date: Nov 01, 2019