Five facts about Joaquin Phoenix’s Joker
With filming underway, we share some buzz on DC villain-centred movie
Joaquin Phoenix is taking on DC Comics’ most famous villain in Joker, set to hit theatres on Oct. 4, 2019.
So how will this latest incarnation of Batman’s arch-enemy be different from the portrayals of the villain played by Heath Ledger ( The Dark Knight), Jared Leto ( Suicide Squad), Jack Nicholson (Tim Burton’s Bat
man) and others? Here’s what we know so far about the film. 1. Joaquin Phoenix is playing the title role.
The actor, who was nominated for an Oscar for his unsteady Emperor Commodus in 2000’s
Gladiator, is portraying the Joker both before and after the character undergoes his clown makeup transformation. Director Todd Phillips ( Old
School, The Hangover) posted a video of Phoenix in September that showed a “camera test” of the actor.
The video shows Phoenix first looking like a mild-mannered man in a zip-up hoodie, then looking scary as Joker yukking it up to the tune of “Laughing” by the Guess Who.
2. Joker will be an origin story.
Warner Bros. has described the movie as a stand-alone story about “a man disregarded by society,” serving as “not only a gritty character study but also a broader cautionary tale.” That man is called Arthur. The film was announced at San Diego Comic-Con in 2017 and comic book fans weren’t exactly happy about the news. It’s set in Gotham City in the 1980s.
3. Robert De Niro is expec- ted to co-star.
Joker could be the first comic book movie for De Niro.
The actor is in talks to play a role in the film, said a person familiar with the situation but not authorized to speak publicly about it.
According to Variety, the plot echoes De Niro’s famed role in 1982’s The King of Comedy, in which a failing comedian (De Niro) kidnaps a popular talkshow host to gain fame.
In Joker, the roles would be reversed, with De Niro playing the smug host.
Deadpool 2 star Zazie Beetz and GLOW actor Marc Maron are also part of the Joker cast. 4. However, Alec Baldwin pulled out of the movie.
Baldwin has withdrawn from the role of Bruce Wayne’s father, Thomas, in Joker.
The actor said, “I’m no longer doing that movie” citing “scheduling” issues.
5. Joker production has begun.
Pictures of Phoenix as Arthur and as the full-blown Joker have been snapped over the last couple of months.
On Monday, the actor was seen on the set in New York, filming a cemetery scene in a maroon suit on a rainy day.