Joaquin Phoenix Says He Couldn’t Care Less About Any Joker Backlash

When it comes to Warner’s standalone Joker movie, it seems Joaquin Phoenix has developed a case of tunnel vision. And that’s no bad thing.

IndieWire caught up with the acclaimed actor just recently to discuss The Sisters Brothers, though it didn’t take long for the conversation to veer towards Worlds of DC and, in particular, Joker.

That’s the name given to the other DC solo film which features the Clown Prince of Crime in a lead role, and while Warner Bros. purportedly still has plans for Jared Leto’s tattooed gangster, soon audiences will be flocking to see Joaquin Phoenix and his own take on Gotham’s worst nightmare.

Such a high-profile piece of casting has inevitably evoked criticism from select corners of the Internet – not that Phoenix is particularly fussed, as he’s firmly focused on the vision at hand.

I could care less. I don’t really think that much about what people think. Who cares, who cares? My approach to every movie is the same. What I’m interested in is the filmmaker and the idea of the character.

If only everyone adopted a similar mindset. Said to be rooted in 1980s Gotham City, the standalone Joker movie from Todd Phillips and Joaquin Phoenix has already tapped a whole host of A-list talent, including Robert De Niro and Deadpool 2 star Zazie Beetz. Six Feet Under‘s Frances Conroy is seemingly on the verge of playing Penny, Joker’s mother, while Marc Maron looks destined to play a high-ranking crook for Robert De Niro’s crime boss.

The real ace in the hole is, of course, Joaquin Phoenix, whose career track record is littered with scenery-chewing performances. Here’s hoping he can crank out another for Joker when it creeps into theaters on October 4th, 2019.