Zach Galifianakis is heading for another successful franchise as the actor is in final negotiations to join The Lego Batman Movie as the villainous Joker, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
After the surprise global success of The Lego Movie ($468m [£300m] worldwide), a raft of spin-offs have inevitably surfaced but it’s the DC-fuelled superhero tale that’s predictably gaining the most buzz.
Will Arnett will be reprising the role of Batman, initially debuted in the 2014 hit, while Michael Cera is set to voice his sidekick Robin. The film will be produced by Dan Lin, Roy Lee and Lego Movie directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, and directing duties will be handed to the original’s animation supervisor Chris McKay.
Galifianakis isn’t the only actor set to play The Joker in a forthcoming film – Jared Leto is also taking on the role in Suicide Squad and Ben Affleck playing Batman.
The actor, last seen in the Oscar-winning Birdman, will next appear in period romance Tulip Fever, with Judi Dench and Cara Delevingne, and heist comedy Masterminds with Kristen Wiig. The release of Masterminds, however, is up in the air after the recent bankruptcy of distribution company Relativity Media.
The first Lego spin-off set to hit cinemas is Ninjago, with sequels to The Lego Movie and Harry Potter spin-offs also slated for release.
