New Fan Art Shows Joaquin Phoenix Going Full-On Joker

As more information comes to light regarding Todd Phillips’ Joker origin movie, it’s becoming more apparent that it won’t be your usual comic book flick. After all, we’re not chronicling the journey of a hero in this case, but rather, we’ll be witness to an original take on the beginnings of the Clown Prince of Crime. To me, it’s always intriguing to see how an average Joe becomes the most vile person imaginable.

Now that filming is underway, Phillips wasted little time in releasing the first image depicting Joaquin Phoenix as Arthur, the man who’ll eventually become the Ace of Knaves. When you think about it, putting out at least one teaser pic this early in the game means the crew just barely beat paparazzi to the punch.

Considering that the picture’s titled Joker, it stands to reason that Phoenix will be seen in full regalia before the credits roll. What that’ll look like is anybody’s guess, but Cameron W. Robertson recently posted an edit of the aforementioned photo on Reddit that gives this iteration of the character a more familiar appearance.

Of course, there’s no guarantee of this reflecting what’ll be seen on the silver screen, though there’s a good chance that Robertson came close with his effort. To be honest, the long hair makes me recall Heath Ledger’s Joker, but I’m sure Phillips and company are doing their own thing.

For more info on what’s to come, be sure to check out the following synopsis that tells us who’ll be starring alongside Phoenix and Robert De Niro:

Joker centers around the iconic arch nemesis and is an original, standalone story not seen before on the big screen. Phillips’ exploration of Arthur Fleck (Phoenix). The film also stars Zazie Beetz (Deadpool 2), Bill Camp (Red Sparrow, Molly’s Game), Frances Conroy (American Horror Story, Castle Rock), Brett Cullen (42, Narcos), Glenn Fleshler (Billions, Barry), Douglas Hodge (Red Sparrow, Penny Dreadful), Marc Maron (Maron, GLOW), Josh Pais (Motherless Brooklyn, Going in Style), and Shea Whigham (First Man, Kong: Skull Island).

Joker arrives in theaters on October 4, 2019.