First Look at the Man Who Will Be ‘Joker’

Joker
Saturday may have been Batman Day but Sunday belonged to the Joker as director Todd Phillips took to Instagram last night to share a first look at the man who will become the clown prince of crime.

 

Captioned simply ‘Arthur’, the image shows how Joaquin Phoenix will look before his transformation into Gotham’s most notorious villain.

 

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Arthur.

A post shared by Todd Phillips (@toddphillips1) on

 

The caption also seems to confirm earlier rumors that the Joker’s real name will be Arthur Fleck in this interpretation, which is said to be heavily influenced by Scorsese’s Taxi Driver, along with classic Batman stories The Killing Joke and The Man Who Laughs.

 

The movie, which is currently filming, is expected to be more of a crime drama and character study than the traditional comic book blockbuster, with the studio calling it  “[an] exploration of a man disregarded by society [that] is not only a gritty study, but also a broader cautionary tale.”

 

Joker is due for release October 4th 2019.