Veteran character actor Brett Cullen is the latest star to join the upcoming "Joker" standalone flick, taking over the part originally -- and very, very briefly -- assigned to Alec Baldwin.

ComicBook.com reports that Warner Bros. has confirmed Cullen's casting, replacing Baldwin as Thomas Wayne, the father of Bruce Wayne (a.k.a. the future Batman). Baldwin was only attached to the part for a few days late last month before he exited the flick, thanks to a scheduling conflict.

Maybe, though, Baldwin simply wanted to take a break from playing the current president, since rumored character descriptions for this version of Thomas Wayne have pegged him as a "cheesy and tanned businessman who is more in the mold of a 1980s Donald Trump." It didn't take WB and DC long to find their man in Cullen, who's no stranger to comic book fare, having appeared in "Ghost Rider" and "The Dark Knight Rises."

Though Cullen -- who's also had roles on TV series including "Lost" and "Person of Interest" -- isn't exactly a household name, the rest of the cast is certainly pretty starry. "Joker" features big names including Joaquin Phoenix (playing the titular role), Robert De Niro, Frances Conroy, Marc Maron, and Zazie Beetz.

"Joker" currently has a release date in the cards for October 4, 2019.

[via: ComicBook.com]