Image: Instagram (@toddphillips1)
We got our first look at Joaquin Phoenix as The Joker and, well, he doesn’t look much like The Joker.
Phoenix is playing the iconic Batman villain in an upcoming origin movie, directed by Todd Phillips. Phillips posted this image of Phoenix on Instagram this weekend with the caption “Arthur,” which basically confirms rumors that the character’s name would be Arthur Fleck.
Both in the Instagram photo and in TMZ footage of the film shooting in Manhattan, Pheonix isn’t in the full clown makeup or green hair that is traditionally associated with The Joker. This confirms suspicions that the movie will serve as a backstory, following Arthur as he shifts from a struggling stand-up comedian to Gotham’s Clown Prince, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
The TMZ footage shows the pre-Joker Phoenix in heated conversation with a clown on a city street while smoking a cigarette. He then takes the clown’s nose and throws it down the road.
Phillps’ take on the Joker is scheduled for release Oct. 4, 2019. According to IMDb, it will also star Zazie Beetz and Robert De Niro.
h/t HuffPost
