After Heath Ledger’s turn as Joker in “The Dark Knight,” many thought that nothing could ever top the actor’s Oscar-winning performance. Well, Jared Leto’s portrayal in “Suicide Squad” seemed to prove that correct. But then came Joaquin Phoenix in “Joker,” and it appears that the character is perfectly capable of sustaining multiple iconic performances. And that intrigues Lakeith Stanfield.
Over the course of his publicity for the upcoming romance film, “The Photograph,” Stanfield has made no attempt to hide his interest in playing Joker in a future film. And yes, that is even after Phoenix’s most recent film.
“I would love to play the Joker. That’d be beautiful,” Stanfield said during an interview on Jimmy Kimmel Live recently.
He was given the opportunity to expand on his desire to play the Clown Prince of Crime during another interview with Collider.
“What I’d bring to it would have a lot to do with who I collaborate with, and how the story’s written and what world we exist in, and then I’ll go do my lil magic,” he said.
Stanfield name-dropped some recent filmmakers that he worked with on “Uncut Gems” as possibilities to direct his dream “Joker” film. He said, “Hey, wouldn’t it be crazy if me and the Safdies did something like that?”
Considering many are calling the Safdie Brothers the newest iteration of Martin Scorsese that exists today, combined with the fact that “Joker” filmmaker Todd Phillips shamelessly borrowed from the legendary filmmaker’s handbook for his project, seeing Josh and Benny Safdie put their own spin on the character of Joker would definitely be intriguing. Adding to that, the idea of Stanfield as the lead, after the incredible work he’s turned in over the last 5 years or so, would be the icing on the cake.
So, obviously we’re talking about hypothetical dream scenarios, so it’s not like this will ever happen. But if you close your eyes for a second and try hard, you can probably imagine what the film would look like. And maybe, it would be something that made what Phillips and Phoenix created seem almost normal.
Until then, you can catch “Uncut Gems” in its theatrical re-release this weekend, and if you want even more Stanfield, “The Photograph” hits theaters on Valentine’s Day, February 14.