It's no secret that superhero movies are everywhere. With three shared universes battling it out for box office supremacy, there's no shortage of projects ripped from comic books. But there are a few movies attempting to avoid superhero fatigue, and craft something new within the genre. Todd Phillips' Joker sounds like one of those type of movies.
In stark juxtaposition to the character's typical handling, Joker will give the Clown Prince of Crime an origin story-- told through the eyes of Joaquin Phoenix's character Arthur Fleck. Filming has been underway for the upcoming superhero flick, and now an official synopsis has been released to the public. Check it out.
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.
Well, this should be interesting. While moviegoers are excited to see yet another take on The Joker, it appear that Todd Phillips' upcoming project will also be somewhat allegorical. So the question remains: what the heck is this movie going to entail?
Joker's synopsis comes to CinemaBlend from the official Warner Bros. 2019 editorial guide, and is sure to start countless fan theories. The movie's contents are being mostly kept under wraps, despite filming openly in New York. Joker will function outside of the DC live-action shared universe, and is a story separate from Jared Leto's version of the character from Suicide Squad.
The Joker usually doesn't have an origin story, at least in the most beloved forms of the character. What made Heath Ledger's role in The Dark Knight Rises such an iconic and Oscar winning performance is because Joker is an agent of chaos. His backstory changes every time he tells it, and it's clear that there's only one thing on Joker's mind: destruction.
In some ways, giving Joker a fully fleshed out origin story can be seen as a disservice to the character. There was certainly a mixed reaction when Joker was first announced by Warner Bros. But when Todd Phillips assembled an impressive cast and began sharing glimpses of the set, things quickly changed. Joining Joaquin Phoenix in the upcoming DC movie are Robert De Niro, Frances Conroy (American Horror Story), Zazie Beetz (Deadpool 2), and Marc Maron.
Joker has a lot of things going for it, with its cast and director putting work to get the project out in a relatively small budget, and likely rated R. The title character is arguably the most popular comic book villain ever, so people are going to shell out. And with a release date close to Halloween, it's also a project that casual movie fans will show up for.
Joker will arrive in theaters on October 4th, 2019. In the meantime, check out our 2019 release list to plan your next trip to the movies.
