‘Joker’: Joaquin Phoenix Clowns Around in First Set Photos

DC fans just got their very first look at Joaquin Phoenix as the Joker, and now some new photos are showing him in action.

Just Jared recently shared a series of on-set photos from Joker, which see Phoenix’s Arthur Fleck in Amusement Mile, outside of a place named “Ha-Ha Talent Agency”, where he can be seen holding a bag and joking around with a man dressed in a standard clown suit. You can check out a link to the photos below.

While there isn’t much context for this scene, it does make sense on a few different levels. We know that the film is expected to follow Arthur through the failure of his career as a stand-up comedian, which ultimately motivates him to become the Joker and turn to a life of villainy. With that in mind, the talent agency of it all does make sense, with the clown thrown is as an extra bit of foreshadowing.

Joker is being directed by The Hangover and Due Date‘s Todd Phillips, with executive producers including Martin Scorcese. In addition to Phoenix, the film will co-star Robert De Niro, Zazie Beetz, Frances Conroy, and Marc Maron. Alec Baldwin was initially tapped to be in the film as Thomas Wayne, but had to drop out due to scheduling conflicts. The film is expected to be a (hopefully) R-Rated, entirely standalone take on the DC Comics world, which will challenge people’s conceptions of a comic book movie.

“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.”

Even then, it sounds like the veteran actor is a little intimidated by taking on the role — in a good way.

“I take a lot of time and consideration when making decisions and what I’m gonna work on, always.” Phoenix added. “So, in some ways, the process, which is obviously reading a script and meeting a filmmaker and then continuing to have meetings and discussions with Todd [Phillips]. I think he’s very impressive and he seems to have a very interesting understanding of this world and what he’s trying to say. And so there is something very appealing about that and working with him on this particular project. It feels unique, it is its own world in some ways, and maybe, mostly, it scares the f-cking sh-t out of me or something. It might as well be the thing that scares you the most.”

What do you think of this new look at Joaquin Phoenix 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.