Joaquin Phoenix Flashes His ‘Joker’ Grin Ahead of the Film Beginning Production

DC Films’ Joker movie is gearing up to begin filming, and we’ve already got a pretty good look at the film’s star.

A new photo of Joaquin Phoenix at the Deauville American Film Festival has been making the rounds online, which showcases the new physique that the actor has acquired for Joker. As opposed to earlier photos of Phoenix, this photo shows him giving a pretty big grin, which definitely brings the iconic DC Comics villain to mind.

With filming on the project expected to begin in the coming days, it’s anyone’s guess when we will actually see photos of Phoenix taking on the role. Still, photos like this one will certainly jog fans’ imaginations, and probably be even more fuel for fan artists.

While the concept of Joker initially confused fans when it was first announced, plenty have come around to the project, which is set to be a low-budget film outside of the main DC Extended Universe continuity. The 80s-set, potentially R-rated film will see the Joker (Joaquin Phoenix) begin as a stand-up comedian, who turns to a life of crime and madness after a particularly bad performance.

“I wouldn’t quite classify this as like any genre,” Phoenix said in a recent interview. “I wouldn’t say it’s a superhero movie, or a studio movie or a … It feels unique, and I think more then 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.”

Joker is being directed by The Hangover and Due Date‘s Todd Phillips and executive produced by Martin Scorsese. In addition to Phoenix, the film will star Robert De Niro, Zazie Beetz, Frances Conroy, and Marc Maron. And as it turns out, Phoenix has had that sort of idea kicking around in his head for quite some time.

“Three or four years ago, I called my agent and said ‘Why don’t they want to take one of these characters and just make a lower budget film about it, a movie but a character study, and why not take one of the villains?’” Phoenix revealed in a recent interview. “And I thought, ‘You can’t do the Joker, because, you know, it’s just you can’t do that character, it’s just been done.’ So I was trying to think of other characters, and he said ‘I’ll set up a general meeting with Warner Bros.‘ And I said ‘I’m not gonna go, I can’t go to a general meeting.’ So I completely forgot about it, and so then I heard about this idea, I was like, ‘Oh that’s so exciting, that’s the kind of experience I wanted to have, with a movie based on a comic character.’ I felt like you could get something on screen.”

What do you think of this latest photo of Phoenix? Does it make you excited to see him in Joker? Let us know what you think in the comments below.

Joker is expected to debut in theaters on October 4, 2019. Upcoming DC Extended Universe films include Aquaman on December 21st, Shazam on April 5, 2019, and Wonder Woman 2 on November 1, 2019.