As the internet soaks in the first footage of Joaquin Phoenix in full Joker makeup, we may also have been given our first look at the logo for Todd Phillips’ upcoming comic book movie.
The following image made its way onto Reddit with origins unclear, so there remains a possibility that the alleged set photo isn’t legit. Still, until proven otherwise, we’re willing to buy that this director’s slate is the real thing, and while this block capital Joker title doesn’t bring anything especially new to the table, the red graffiti effect does suggest an attempt to follow through on the initial suggestions of a gritty crime drama from the streets of Gotham.
Executive produced by Martin Scorsese, the upcoming Joker is said to be a character study reminiscent of Taxi Driver, following a failed stand-up comedian’s descent into villainy and madness. The film even has Travis Bickle himself, Robert De Niro, in the cast, albeit in the role of a talk show host.
As a work existing separately from the DCEU, where Jared Leto is still the Clown Prince of Crime, the movie’s being marketed as a different kind of comic book flick, with Phoenix claiming earlier this year that the film can’t be fit neatly into any one genre:
“I wouldn’t quite classify this as like any genre. I wouldn’t say it’s a superhero movie, or a studio movie or a … It feels unique, and I think more then anything, and probably the most important thing, is Todd seems very passionate about it and very giving, and so that’s exciting.”
We’ll see if Joker can be classified as a success when the film comes out on October 4th, 2019. But first, we have a couple of presumably less gritty DC adaptations heading our way in the form of Aquaman on December 21st, 2018, and Shazam! on April 5, 2019.
Published: Sep 21, 2018 05:09 pm