Joker, Todd Phillips' standalone DC entry, is out in October and will surely give us some of the highest possible caliber of Batman villain portrayal.
Wednesday, Warner Bros. made good on Phillips' earlier promise of dropping a proper teaser trailer for the film, which mercifully stars proven legend Joaquin Phoenix. See that up top.
The always reliable Phoenix is joined in Phillips' unique take on a Joker origin story by Zazie Beetz, Robert De Niro, Marc Maron, and Brian Tyree Henry. Scott Silver (8 Mile) co-penned the script with Phillips. In Wednesday's teaser trailer, we're given a quick glimpse at Arkham State Hospital and presented with some ominous voiceover from Phoenix.
"My mother always tells me to smile and put on a happy face," Phoenix, as troubled comedian Arthur Fleck, says in the two-minute peek at what will surely go down as one of my 2019 personal favorites. "She told me I had a purpose to bring laughter and joy to the world. ... Is it just me or is it getting crazier out there?"
Ahead of Joker's Oct. 4 release date, Phoenix will next be seen as Mr. Jesus Christ in Mary Magdalene, which gets a U.S. release April 12. Last year, Phoenix continued adding to his legacy with The Sisters Brothers and the John Callahan biopic Don't Worry, He Won’t Get Far on Foot.
Despite Joker's unique place in Phoenix's filmography, he toldIndieWire last August that the prep work involved was the same. "What gets my interest is examining people," he said at the time. "Some of it is really fucking simple."
