Martin Scorsese says he considered directing 'Joker' for years before passing for 'personal reasons'

Warner Bros.

"Joker"

• Martin Scorsese confirmed in a recent interview with BBC that he considered directing and producing "Joker" for four years before ultimately passing on the project "for personal reasons."
• Scorsese said that he didn't know if he could make "the next step" in the character's development into a "comic-book character" and an "abstraction."
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Filmmaker Martin Scorsese said in a recent interview with BBC that he considered making "Joker" for years before ultimately passing on it "for personal reasons."

Scorsese has made headlines recently for his comments about Marvel superhero movies, in which he referred to them as "not cinema" and compared them to theme parks. BBC's Sam Asi asked Scorsese, who was at one point attached to produce "Joker," if he thinks of it as a "theme park movie" even though it's influenced by his films.

"I don't know about that," Scorsese said. "I know the film very well and I know [the director] Todd [Phillips] very well ... so it's an interesting question. I thought about ['Joker'] a lot over the past four years," Scorsese said. "I decided I didn't have the time for it."

A BBC representative confirmed to Business Insider, citing representatives for Warner Bros., that Scorsese was referring to both directing and producing. Business Insider reached out separately to a representative for Scorsese for confirmation, but did not receive an immediate reply.

The Hollywood Reporter first reported last month that Scorsese considered "Joker" as a "potential directing vehicle" before Phillips came on board, though a representative for Scorsese told THR that he "had no intention to direct 'Joker'" and only "considered producing."

"Personal reasons is why I didn't get involved, but I know the script very well," Scorsese said in the BBC interview. "Remarkable work, but for me, ultimately, I don't know if I make the next step, which is this character developing into a comic-book character. He develops into an abstraction. That doesn't mean that it's bad art. It could be, but it's not for me."

Scorsese then elaborated on other superhero movies.

"That's different from the superhero films," he said. "The superhero films, as I've said, are like another art form. They're not easy to make, there are a lot of talented people doing very good work, and a lot of young people really enjoy them. But I do think it's more of an extension of the amusement park."

Watch the full BBC interview here.