There’s Something Funny About Joaquin Phoenix’s First "Joker" Photo

Okay, it’s not funny "ha ha".

Why so not-covered-in-face-tattoos, Joaquin?

Director Todd Phillips—of The Hangover franchise; never forget—has revealed the first official photo of Joaquin Phoenix as the Joker in his upcoming origin movie. And he’s, y’know, pretty normal looking.

That’s, of course, compared to the first official shot of Jared Leto as Joker prior to the release of Suicide Squad. Sharp-eyed viewers may be able to recognise the subtle differences between the two.

Still, we’re going to assume Phoenix’s version of the Joker—named "Arthur"—won’t remain this regular-looking for long (unless Phillips is really going to lean into the threatening use of his corduroy jacket).

As previously reported, Phillips and Phoenix’s Joker movie will be a "gritty" tale that explores "a man disregarded by society". It should be considered completely separate to the other Joker flick still being developed by Warner Bros. and DC, still starring Leto and likely Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn, despite the fact that Leto’s much-mocked take on the character similarly left him disregarded by society.

You’ll see Phoenix’s version in cinemas first, as it’s due out October of 2019. It's still not known if Batman will make an appearance alongside Phoenix, but keep this cheeky observation from Kevin Smith in mind (though the lastname "Fleck" is still just a rumour):

The untitled film also stars Robert De Niro, Zazie Beetz and Marc Maron. Beware his corduroy outwear!

(Earlier this month, we interviewed Lynne Ramsay, director of Phoenix’s You Were Never Really Here, who said the actor was "deep in character [as the Joker] now." Read more here.)

Header Image: Instagram (toddphillips1)