Joaquin Phoenix Looks A Bit Sad In New Joker Set Photos

As more information comes to light regarding Todd Phillips’ Joker origin film, it’s becoming pretty apparent that it won’t be your typical comic book movie. For one, we’re not chronicling the journey of a hero here, but rather, we’ll be seeing an original take on the beginnings of the Clown Prince of Crime. It’s always fascinating to watch how an average Joe becomes the most vile person imaginable, and Phillips’ upcoming effort promises to give us just that.

Now that filming’s underway, set photos are starting to come in thick and fast and that continues today with a new batch courtesy of Just Jared. Seemingly taken from the same scene as the ones we saw earlier this week, front and center here is Joaquin Phoenix as Arthur Fleck, a man “disregarded by society.” He’ll be anchoring this dark and brooding crime saga alongside Robert De Niro, who plays a smug and popular talk show host desperate for fame.

But for these photos, we’re only treated to some shots of Phoenix, who looks a bit sad and sombre when compared to how maniacal he appeared to be in the other pics. Regardless, you can check them out via Just Jared and take a peek at what the actor’s been up to on set.

From what we understand, the Todd Phillips-directed spinoff is taking story cues from both The Killing Joke and Martin Scorsese’s King of Comedy. Not to mention that some believe The Dark Knight is being pulled from as well. At least, in the look of Arthur and his general demeanor.

Beyond that, plot details remain thin on the ground, but what we can tell you is that the pic will be its own separate beast and remain largely unaffected by the goings-on of the DC Universe (or Worlds of DC, as it’s now being called). That means Jared Leto’s still set to play the Clown Prince of Crime in future projects, but at least for now, it’s Joaquin Phoenix and his cackling mega-villain that’s taken the spotlight.

How he’ll stack up to previous Jokers remains to be seen of course, but as this intriguing DC project continues to head deeper into production, we’ll surely start to get a better idea of the Academy Award nominee’s take on the iconic villain sooner rather than later.