Brett Cullen is Thomas Wayne in new set photos for Todd Phillips' Joker. Principal photography for Warner Bros.' comic book film, which stars Joaquin Phoenix as the titular character, is currently underway in New York and several photos from the set have already leaked online, offering fans their first look at the intriguing project. Set in the '80s, the movie will introduce fans to the iconic DC villain when he was known as simply Arthur Fleck - a failed comedian.
Alec Baldwin was initially set to play Thomas Wayne in Phillips' film, but he dropped out of Joker shortly after news of his casting broke. It took a while before Joker found a replacement in the form of Cullen, an actor who's far from a stranger to the world of Batman (having previously costarred in The Dark Knight Rises). Cullen has since been spotted in character and on-set shooting his scenes for Joker in the Big Apple.
Related: Joaquin Phoenix & Zazie Beetz Spotted Together in Joker Photos
Just Jared has rolled out a batch of brand-new images from the New York City set of Joker, including one that features Cullen as Thomas Wayne. While previously-leaked Joker set photos have confirmed that Thomas attempts to become the new mayor of Gotham in the movie, there's no trace of his political campaign in these new images.
CLICK for the New Joker Set Photos
These new images don't reveal anything significant about Cullen's version of the Wayne patriarch, other than he's very much an upper-class citizen in the film's '80s-era Gotham. Question is, what is Fleck doing in these images and how does it connect to Wayne? Fleck can be seen holding a piece of paper (like a printed picture?) in these set photos and seems to be rushing to catch someone, before he stumbles. Could Fleck be carrying a photograph of his mother that he intends to show to Wayne, in an effort to prove that he's Thomas' illegitimate child? It's a real possibility, based on the previously-reported Joker plot and character details.
Should this be the case, chances are the sequence being shot here takes place early on in the film. Fleck doesn't look like he has fully spiraled into becoming the Joker yet and he certainly doesn't have the menacing look the villain is known for. If anything, he seems naively hopeful in these set photos. Joker will explore Fleck's life before he became Batman's arch-nemesis, including the series of tragic events that push him to become unhinged. If Fleck tries and fails repeatedly to reach out to his biological father, that will definitely help to push him further down the path to madness.
More: Joaquin Phoenix's Final Joker Look (Possibly) Revealed In Set Photo
Source: Just Jared
