As Warner Bros. and director Todd Phillips continue to assemble their cast for the standalone DC movie Joker, a new casting breakdown has surfaced online, which may suggest that the Batman villain Rupert Thorne could be making his live-action debut in the movie.
Omega Underground has got its hands on a breakdown for ‘Mr. Warner’, described as a 60-70 year old white male and “a deeply-tanned, hair dyed so black it was almost blue, highly successful, New York City businessman, rumoured to be running for Mayor. He’s a public figure in the city and a symbol of wealth.”
There’s no confirmation that ‘Mr. Warner’ is Rupert Thorne, but the description certainly fits the character, a corrupt politician turned crime boss who makes a play to become the Mayor of Gotham City.
Thorne was created by Steve Englehart and Walter Simonson back in 1977, and was originally intended to appear in 1989’s Batman, only to be replaced by Jack Palance’s Carl Grissom. He was also a major recurring villain in Batman: The Animated Series, where he was portrayed as Gotham’s ruling crime boss.
Joker is set for release on October 4th 2019 and sees Joaquin Phoenix leading the cast as the Clown Prince of Crime alongside Zazie Beetz (Deadpool 2), Robert De Niro (Goodfellas) and Frances Conroy (American Horror Story).