20 years before the Taxi Driver-inspired Joker film, Darren Aronofsky and Frank Miller wrote a mentally unhinged Bruce Wayne, influenced by Robert De Niro’s Travis Bickle.
The comic itself seems to have been subtly inspired by the Scorsese movie but Aronofsky and Miller took it a step farther. Instead of using his money to travel around the world and train in multiple skills, this Bruce Wayne grew up on the streets, refusing to come forward and claim the Wayne fortune. Angered by the filth and corruption around him, this Bruce is haunted by dreams of his trauma and writes letters to his dead father. He soon finds that the only way he can sleep peacefully at night or feel any real joy...is when he’s beating up criminals.
Click the link in our bio for our deep dive episode into the Batman Year One script that was never made. #darrenaronofsky #frankmiller #batman #brucewayne #batmanyearone #taxidriver #joker #jokermovie #joker2019 #robertdeniro #travisbickle #martinscorsese #davidmazzuchelli #screenplay #podcast #dccomics #dcuniverse #dcmovies #comics #cinema #joaquinphoenix #toddphillips