'Joker' Actor Alec Baldwin Once Met Batman on '30 Rock'

Earlier this week, reports emerged that Alec Baldwin would be starring in the Joker origin movie as Thomas Wayne, igniting rumors about whether or not Bruce Wayne will appear in the movie. Regardless of what happens in that film, Baldwin already crossed paths with Batman, with Adam West appearing in an episode of 30 Rock, which can be seen in the clip above.

The above encounter is much more humorous than what fans will get with Joaquin Phoenix in the upcoming Joker film, even if Phoenix himself has a difficult time classifying what fans can expect.

"I wouldn't quite classify this as like any genre," Joaquin Phoenix, who will star in the film, said in a recent interview. "I wouldn't say it's a superhero movie, or a studio movie or a … It feels unique, and I think more then anything, and probably the most important thing, is Todd seems very passionate about it and very giving, and so that's exciting. I think, underneath the excitement of these films, and the size of them, there are these incredible characters that are dealing with real life struggles. And sometimes that is uncovered and exposed, and sometimes it isn't, and so I always felt, like, there were characters in comics that were really interesting and deserve the opportunity to be kind of studied. And so I think that's what Todd sees appealing about this idea."

The film comes from The Hangover director Todd Phillips with Martin Scorsese serving as executive producer. Seemingly thanks to the producing power of Scorsese, the film has amassed an impressive roster of talent, which includes Robert De Niro, Zazie Beetz, Frances Conroy, and Marc Maron.

Phoenix has circled various superhero projects in his past, with all of those opportunities fizzling out. The actor noted that he'd been looking to get involved with a fresh take on a comic book film when Joker began to gestate.

"Three or four years ago, I called my agent and said 'Why don't they want to take one of these characters and just make a lower budget film about it, a movie but a character study, and why not take one of the villains?'" Phoenix admitted recently. "And I thought, 'You can't do the Joker, because, you know, it's just you can't do that character, it's just been done.' So I was trying to think of other characters, and he said 'I'll set up a general meeting with Warner Bros.' And I said 'I'm not gonna go, I can't go to a general meeting.' So I completely forgot about it, and so then I heard about this idea, I was like, 'Oh that's so exciting, that's the kind of experience I wanted to have, with a movie based on a comic character.' I felt like you could get something on screen."

Joker is expected to debut in theaters on October 4, 2019 with filming set to begin next month.

Other upcoming DC Extended Universe films include Aquaman on December 21st, Shazam on April 5, 2019, and Wonder Woman 2 on November 1, 2019.

Are you looking forward to Baldwin joining the DCEU? Let us know in the comments below!

[H/T YouTube, 30 Rock Official]