Alec Baldwin has opted out of DC supervillain film, Joker. The film is to star Joaquin Phoenix, and up until just two days ago, DC had announced of casting the Emmy-award winning actor as Thomas Wayne.
This news has abruptly changed. Baldwin stated on USA Today:
I’m no longer doing that movie.
And his reaction is understandable. Thomas Wayne is the character most famously known as Bruce Wayne’s father. A nurturer, philanthropist, and doctor. Martha and Thomas Wayne often pursue charity events, where they even invest in mental health such as Arkham Asylum. However, the new role of Thomas Wayne calls for a 1980’s, hard-shelled, imitation of Donald-Trump. A sleazy rich businessman.
The actor went onto comment on his Twitter after Saturday Night Live:
Let me state, for the record, that I have NOT been hired to play a role in Todd Phillips’ JOKER as some Donald Trump manque.
That is not happening.
Not.
Happening.— ABFoundation (@ABFalecbaldwin) August 29, 2018
He tweets:
Let me state, for the record, that I have NOT been hired to play a role in Todd Phillips’ JOKER as some Donald Trump manque.
That is not happening.
Not.
Happening.
Warner Bros. film writers need to stop filling Batman with symbols of toxic masculinity. The “Playboy Prince” persona is over-done. It is why the ride with the good Tom King has been so fun. He explores more sides of Batman. Where is the sense of care for Gotham that Bruce Wayne’s parents had? Helping Arkham inmates, victims of war, their war on guns?
We’ve heard enough brooding stories, we’ve seen woman after woman wake up in Batman’s bed. There is no reason for Thomas Wayne to be any worse, especially when it’s incorrect to canon. Yes, a business can be a cruel world, but the writers need to give more well-rounded perspectives. Bruce Wayne has enough trauma, we don’t need to add unpleasant childhood memories to the list. A character like Trump belongs nowhere in superhero comics unless they are the mistaking him for Tony Stark’s father? I hope this action by Baldwin pushes the writers to redirect Thomas Wayne into the good father that instilled hope and that famous sense of justice in his son.
