Tim Curry as The Joker

Didn't even know he was under consideration. Nicholson was phenomenal but have to admit that would have been interesting.

I really liked Jack Nicholson but Tim Curry is one of the few people of prominence in 1989 that makes me wonder what that could've been!

I like the idea. He probably would have been great!

It’d have been totally different but just as interesting in my opinion, he might have been a bit darker than the film was going for though.

He also auditioned for the role of Judge Doom (Christopher Lloyd’s character)in Who Framed Roger Rabbit but was turned down by Robert Zemeckis and Steven Spielberg because they found his audition absolutely terrifying, if he’d been cast as The Joker and able to bring that dark energy to it then maybe he’d have been somewhat similar to Heath Ledger.

He would have made a great Joker. No doubt about that. But a Joker can be evil without being scary. A joker doesn't have to be super scary to be evil. Plus because the Joker is also supposed to be funny. That's why they call him the Joker.

I'm not sure I can see Tim as The Joker. I think he would be too jokey or perhaps do too much mugging for the camera.

I’m kind of curious how Michael Keaton would have played the Joker. One of the movies I like him most in, Pacific Heights, he plays a disturbing creepy asshole just ruining a couple’s home.

I recall going to the World Science Fiction Convention in 1988, Nolacon II in New Orleans, and Nicholson's casting as Joker had been recently announced. There was a lot of talk about it and the consensus was it was a poor choice; until there was a panel about upcoming films. The studio had provided a short set of slides. On of them was a photo of Jack Nicholson in the famous "Heeere's Johnny!) from the Shining. Then they superimposed the Joker makeup over that face. The audience erupted. We were convinced.

Michael Keaton's casting was also controversial, but we didn't get quite such a definitive reason to approve it.