With Warner Bros. and director Todd Phillips are well into the casting process of the Joker standalone movie it was revealed that his mother Penny and talk show host Murray Franklin would have supporting roles of the film. As of now Robert De Niro is expected to play the role of Franklin, with Frances Conroy in talks for the role of Penny.
Another possible fitting role that some fans have believed was going to be perfect for De Niro due to the comparable age and appear
The character description is listed as the following, “MR. WARNER Supporting Male (60-70) [MR. WARNER] male, Caucasian, 60s, a deeply-tanned, hair dyed so black it was almost blue, highly successful, New York City businessman, rumored to be running for Mayor. He’s a public figure in the city and a symbol of wealth [STRONG SUPPORTING]”
While the description doesn’t specify if the character will play a villain role or not, it does sound a lot like the Rupert Thorne. Thorne is an older businessman turned corrupt politician turned crime boss and longstanding Batman adversary. The character also typically has white hair which leads speculators to believe the De Niro is a fit age-wise and could die his hair easily for the role.
Rupert Thorne was almost in Tim Burton’s 1989 Batman, as a political rival of Thomas Wayne, as Thorne would have hired Joe Chill to kill him. He ended up being replaced with Jack Palance’s Carl Grisson, the crime lord the Joker kills and lays claim over his gang. However, the jury is still out on whether Thorne could be either friend or foe of Joaquin Phoenix’s Joker.
Another possible role this character could be is Vincent Falcone, the father of Carmine Falcone, the crime boss who is also connected to Thomas Wayne. Warner could also be a cover for Wayne. Filming is set to begin this September in New York City, while Warner Bros. has recently set the Joker for the release date of October 4th, 2019.