The controversial Batman parody The People’s Joker, which previously made headlines after getting pulled from the Toronto Film Festival (TIFF) lineup, will soon head to the big screen. Per Variety’s report, the queer comic book parody will hit cinemas on April 5, 2024.
Directed by Vera Drew (Our Bodies), The People’s Joker was poised to grace TIFF in 2022. However, the filmmaker canceled the film’s screenings due to “rights issues.”
“The filmmaker has withdrawn this film due to rights issues. We apologize for any inconvenience. Current ticket holders will receive an email from TIFF Customer Relations with information on their purchase,” the TIFF statement reads.
Warner Bros. Discovery, who holds the rights to the Batman franchise, never released a statement about the Batman parody.
Now, with issues seemingly resolved, LA-based distributor Altered Innocence has acquired the rights to the film and is set to release it in American theaters.
What is The People’s Joker about?
In a statement, the film’s director said that The People’s Joker “started as a D.I.Y. community project for queer artists.” Starring Drew as the aspiring clown named Joker the Harlequin, The People’s Joker — billed as an “absurdist semi-autobiographical dark comedy,” according to Variety — is a queer-themed parody film chronicling the main lead’s journey forming an illegal anti-comedy team.
“Vera Drew has taken her own life experiences and traumas to craft an entirely new genre of cinema that blurs the lines between documentary, coming-of-age film, and parody,” Altered Innocence founder Frank Jaffe told Variety. “We couldn’t be more thrilled to champion this bold, intelligent and hilarious piece of queer cinema that audiences around the globe have fallen in love with.”
The film also features appearances from Maria Bamford, Scott Aukerman, Bob Odenkirk, and Tim Heidecker.
The People’s Joker premieres on April 5, 2024.
