We’re coming up on the announcements for the fall festival circuit with announcements for Venice and Toronto arriving next week. Variety reports that among the entries will be Todd Phillips’ Joker, which would make it the first big “superhero” movie to get a prime spot at a major festival.

Nothing is confirmed yet, but the Venice Film Festival is set to unveil its lineup on July 25th, and Variety reports that Joker is likely to play there alongside Ad Astra, an untitled new movie from Noah Baumbach, Tom Harper’s The Aeronauts starring Eddie Redmayne and Felicity Jones, David Michod’s The King starring Timothee Chalamet and Robert Pattinson, the next Rambo, Fernando Meirelles’ The Pope starring Anthony Hopkins and Jonathan Pryce, and the heist thriller The Burnt Orange Heresy starring Mick Jagger.

So does Warner Bros. think they have an Oscar contender on their hands with Joker? Not necessarily. It could be a way to appease director Todd Phillips or simply a way to show that Joker isn’t a typical comic book movie by placing it alongside prestige pictures. But if the film gets a rapturous reception at Venice, Telluride, and/or Toronto, it could end up being an unlikely player in the awards race. However, right now I’m betting that Warner Bros. is placing its chips on the adaptation of The Goldfinch, which isn’t expected to play at Venice, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it debuts at Telluride or TIFF.

Variety also notes that The Irishman is unlikely to be ready in time for Venice, which means it probably won’t be at Telluride or TIFF either since those three festivals are so close together. However, we will probably get to see Hirokazu Kore-eda’s The Truth, his follow-up to 2018’s Shoplifters. It will also be interesting to see if Bong Joon-ho’s Palme d’Or winner Parasite will make the fall festival rounds.