Joaquin Phoenix Rumored to Have Crushed His 'Joker' Performance

Rumor has it that Joaquin Phoenix is owning his role as the Joker.Justin Shanlian reports having [...]

By Jamie Lovett

Rumor has it that Joaquin Phoenix is owning his role as the Joker.

Justin Shanlian reports having heard some strong buzz around the new Joker origin story film.

"Been told by many that Joaquin Phoenix has crushed it as The Joker," Shanlian tweeted. "The more I hear about this project the more EXCITED I get for it! You're ALL in for a treat when this film is released in October! Heard that the script is incredible and they've nailed the character of The Joker."

Phoenix won a Golden Globe Award for his performance as Johnny Cash in Walk the Line. He's also earned three Academy Award nominations. He brings some serious acting cred to the role of the Joker, a role that won Heath Ledger an Oscar for his work in The Dark Knight.

Phoenix has spoken before about his approach to playing the iconic Batman villain.

"I wouldn't quite classify this as like any genre," Phoenix said while speaking with Collider. "I wouldn't say it's a superhero movie, or a studio movie or a … It feels unique, and I think more than anything, and probably the most important thing, is Todd seems very passionate about it and very giving, and so that's exciting.

"I think, underneath the excitement of these films, and the size of them, there are these incredible characters that are dealing with real-life struggles. And sometimes that is uncovered and exposed, and sometimes it isn't, and so I always felt, like, there were characters in comics that were really interesting and deserve the opportunity to be kind of studied. And so I think that's what Todd sees appealing about this idea."

Todd Phillips directs i. The film is executive produced by Martin Scorsese and stars Phoenix as Arthur Fleck, the man who will become the Joker. The film also features Robert De Niro, Zazie Beetz, Frances Conroy, and Marc Maron.

Production on the film wrapped in December.

"That's a wrap on production," Phillips confirmed on social media. "Thanks to the greatest crew NYC has to offer. It was a fun shoot — but we're not there yet."

The Joker will tell the origin story of the Clown Prince of Crime. It will not be connected to the DC Extended Universe or Jared Leto's version of the Joker from Suicide Squad.

Are you excited to see Phoenix's performance as the Joker? Let us know in the comments!

Joker opens in theaters on Oct. 4, 2019.

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