joker Joaquin Phoenix

Warner Brothers has unleashed a new video of Joaquin Phoenix for ‘Joker’, which starts out with him in the ordinary guise of Arthur Fleck, but after a few teasing flickers, he is revealed in full face makeup as The Joker.  Well, maybe.  His ears aren’t covered, so obviously this is meant to be simply makeup, whereas the comic book character fell into a vat of chemicals which turned all of his skin white.  Is this how The Joker will look in this movie?  Let’s hope not!

Here is the video which comes via Warner Bros.:

This has to simply be a tease.  Because honestly, it looks terrible!  Will Arthur Fleck spend some time working as a clown before becoming the Clown Prince of Crime?

‘Joker’ centers around the iconic arch nemesis and is an original, standalone story not seen before on the big screen. Phillips’ exploration of Arthur Fleck (Phoenix), a man disregarded by society, is not only a gritty character study but also a broader cautionary tale.

Todd Phillips is directing this movie, which is a stand-alone, not connected to other DC Comics movies.  Phillips co-wrote the script with Scott Silver.  Reportedly the film pays tribute to Martin Scorsese’s ‘The King of Comedy’.  In the comics, the Joker was (maybe) a struggling stand-up comedian, so this makes sense.  Reportedly, ‘Joker’ will also draw inspiration from gritty movies such as ‘Raging Bull’ and ‘Taxi Driver’.

Robert DeNiro appears in ‘Joker’ as talk show host Murray Franklin, while Marc Maron portrays one of his employees.  Zazie Beetz plays single mother Sophie Dumond while Josh Pais will play Hoyt Vaughn, a hotel manager.  Frances Conroy portrays Arthur’s mother, Penny, with Brett Cullen depicting Thomas Wayne, the man who would go on to sire the boy that will grow up to become Batman. Bill Camp, Shea Whigham, and Douglas Hodge have also recently been added to the cast.

‘Joker’ opens on October 4, 2019.