‘Joker’ Trailer May Have Revealed First Look at Young Batman

Joaquin Phoenix made quite an impression this morning in the first trailer for Todd Phillips‘ Joker film, but there was plenty of other details to pick up on as well. The trailer gave us first looks at Joker’s world of characters, including Sophie Dumond (Zazie Beetz), Penny Fleck (Frances Conroy), and Murray Franklin (Robert De Niro), and Thomas Wayne (Brett Cullen). In fact, that might not have been the only Wayne snuck into the trailer, and yes, it is exactly the Wayne you’re thinking of.

Later in the trailer, we see a young boy face to face with Fleck. The boy is on the house side of a large gate, and it gives the impression that there’s a large distance between the gate and the building in the background. That would make sense if this were Wayne Manor, and the boy is well dressed as well.

Fleck puts his hands through the bars and uses his thumbs to make the boy smile, and since this takes place after the video we see of Thomas Wayne criticizing the masked man who committed a crime, we’re betting this is part of Fleck’s reconnaissance of Thomas Wayne’s house and a creepy way of getting close to him without actually committing a crime.

All that evidence points to this being a young Bruce Wayne, and you can see the sequence in question in the image above.

Now, this movie does not take place within the continuity of the other DC films. This is more of a standalone take on the Joker, so unless there’s a sequel to this particular movie, you won’t see a bunch of ties to other DCEU movies like Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Man of Steel, Justice League, or Wonder Woman. Still, it appears they are going to provide plenty of cool nods to the source material, and we’re all for it.

Joker stars Phoenix (Arthur Fleck/Joker), Zazie Beetz (Sophie Dumond), Robert De Niro (Murray Franklin), Brett Cullen (Thomas Wayne), Frances Conroy (Penny Fleck), Marc Maron (Ted Marco), Douglas Hodge (Alfred Pennyworth), Josh Pais (Hoyt Vaughn), Bryan Tyree Henry, Bryan Callen, Shea Whigham, and Glen Fleshler. You can find the official description below.

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

Joker hits theaters on October 4th.

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