One of the most anticipated films left for the year 2019 will be much different than any other superhero movie we’ve seen from DC Comics, as Batman‘s arch-nemesis gets the spotlight in Joker. The film will feature Joaquin Phoenix in the title role, and the first trailer has shown it will be a disturbing origin story that embraces the psychotic aspects of the character.
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A new image of Phoenix as the Joker was just revealed courtesy of Italian publication La Repubblica, showing off the actor in his clownish facepaint. Take a look below:
“It’s not a superhero movie, a super villain or a human being with special powers,” Phoenix said to the outlet, explaining that it will be something much different.
Director Todd Phillips explains that the movie will explore systems of power, revealing circumstances that would force a person to rise up and fight. According to the outlet, Joker will not have any an enemy per se but will instead “a competitive and violent American company of the 1980s.”
“With this film, we are not inviting people to rebel. But let’s try to explain why people could, or should, start a revolution,” said Phillips.
“I started from here. I saw videos showing people suffering from pathological laughter, a psychic dysfunction that makes mimicry uncontrollable,” said Phoenix.
The actor previously spoke with Collider about his desire to make the movie, saying it’s unlike other superhero movies that have been released to date but will still focus on bombastic characters.
“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,” Phoenix explained. “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 scheduled to premiere in theaters on October 4th.
