Last Updated on December 1, 2023

After Heath Ledger it was questioned whether or not we would ever even get another big-screen Joker again. Then Jared Leto came along and proved…hey maybe it isn’t so sacred after all. So enter The Hangover‘s Todd Phillips and eccentric actor, Joaquin Phoenix, both deadset on creating a character piece that would rival some of Hollywood’s best. Today on DC Revisited, we’re getting into all of the awkward laughs, Batman connections, and talk shows that end with a bang as we cover Todd Phillip’s Joker.

The idea of a standalone comic book movie isn’t exactly a new thing, with this being the norm prior to the MCU hitting it big with Iron Man. Sure you may get an odd spinoff here or there, but they hardly ever amounted to anything major. And once the MCU came along, interconnected universes became all the rage. While DC was sure to follow suit, there have been some struggles a long the way. Whether it’s Justice League underperforming or Suicide Squad being considered one of the worst comic book movies ever made, things weren’t smooth sailing for DC. Because of this, executives at Warner Bros were willing to do just about anything to get it back on track. Even if it meant doing a comic book film with no connection to their current Snyderverse.

But it was actually future star Joaquin Phoenix who first had the idea of a solo Joker outing. He even told his agent in 2014 that he wanted to do a character study about a DC Comics villain, with his top choice being Joker. But he eventually dropped the idea altogether deeming that “‘You can’t do the Joker, because, you know, it’s just you can’t do that character, it’s just been done.'” And that was a thought that many people had when it came to the character. While Caesar Romero, Jack Nicholson, and even Mark Hamill have all left indelible marks on the character, no one wanted to touch the character after Ledger cast such a large shadow.

Director Todd Phillips found himself in a weird spot in the mid 2010’s. Mostly known as a comedy director, he felt it was difficult to make a comedy due to prevalent “woke culture.” After his darker feature War Dogs failed, he looked at what people wanted. So with comic book movies being all the rage, he thought: “Let’s take a comic book movie universe and turn it on its head.”

There was a bit of controversy present though as DC already had their Cinematic Joker played by Jared Leto. And Warner had already promised Leto his own standalone Joker movie. He was not happy about this version and tried his best to get it cancelled. However, due to the terrible reaction to his own version of Man Who Laughs, Warner didn’t feel like they owed him anything. So the Phillips version was greenlit. This would be standalone, completely separate from the Snyderverse, going very against the character crossover that had become so prevalent.

Wanting to shoot the film in New York, Martin Scorsese was approached about producing the film with Phillips, which he agreed to. The Fighter writer Scott Silver teamed with Phillips on the screenplay. It took them nearly a year to write the script and due to the content, Warner was hesitant to approve it. Their story would focus on Arthur Fleck and his child trauma and mental illness. There’s obvious inspiration from Taxi Driver but also Alan Moore’s The Killing Joke. Combining all of these elements made for a very layered character study. This guy is more than just crazy. And they needed a phenomenal actor to be able to convey that.

When the topic of who should play The Joker came up, the studio pushed for Leonardo DiCaprio. Leo had always been a comic book White Whale, as he’d avoided those projects in the past and with Scorsese on board, it seemed like the perfect time to entice him. But Phillips only ever had one person in mind for Arthur Fleck: Joaquin Phoenix. But getting him to sign on wasn’t easy, and involved a 4 month courting process. Eventually, he agreed. Joaquin went through quite the transformation for the role, losing 52 pounds. He wanted to be “wolf-like and malnourished and hungry.” Phoenix was quite intense on set, storming off in the middle of scenes at times. But his frustration was always with himself and his own performance, often taking a break to come back and nail it. His Joker has a little Travis Bickle in him, a little Charlie Chaplin, but it’s how Phoenix combines them that makes the character so intriguing.

Phoenix’s Joker takes up most of the film’s runtime but there are a slew of wonderful supporting characters in Arthur’s world. Given Scorsese’s involvement, they were able to get Robert De Niro to play Talk Show Host Murray Franklin. De Niro is a respected actor so, along with Phoenix, his casting really went a long way in giving the film legitimacy.

For the role of Arthur’s seeming love interest Sophie Dumond, Zazie Beetz was cast in the role. Frances McDormand was offered the role of Penny Fleck, Arthur’s mother, but turned it down. So instead, Frances Conroy was cast and she’s fantastic. Her obsession with Thomas Wayne leaves more questions than it does answers. And as a big fan of his podcast, I’d be remiss to not mention Marc Maron as the producer of the Murray Franklin show, Gene Ufland.

And yes, this is technically a Batman story, so we’ve got several Waynes featured here with Brett Cullen portraying Thomas, Carrie Louise Putrello playing Martha, and Dante Pereira-Olson as a young Bruce Wayne. Because we haven’t seen that alleyway scene enough. I kid. They most serve to show Arthur the life he missed out on. And I have to mention Shea Wigham, who stars as a detective, hot on Arthur’s trail, a role he’s been in quite a lot in modern day cinema. Alec Baldwin was briefly cast in a role but unfortunately had to drop out due to scheduling conflicts.

Filming took place in Jersey City in the Fall of 2018. Phillips wanted Gotham City to look like New York in the 80s, and Jersey City fit the bill. Though they did end up filming in New York in the second half of production. Mark Friedberg served as the production designer, and used Taxi Driver as one of his main inspirations. While Arkham Asylum is a famous building in the Bat-World, the filmmakers felt the name was a little too out there, so instead went with Arkham State Hospital. Unfortunately, by the time cameras were rolling, Martin Scorsese was no longer involved with the project, though thankfully they retained De Niro.

Director of Photography Lawrence Sher wanted to shoot as much in camera as possible. To give the movie its unique look, Sher used sodium vapor lights, which produces a yellow light.

An early draft for the film leaked onto the internet but Phillips refused to take legal action, actually enjoying that the old draft was out there. This shouldn’t be a surprise as the script was completely rewritten during filming.

Makeup Designer Nicki Ledermann provided the incredible makeup we get in the finale. And this was no easy task, as the design couldn’t be based on anything that had come before it. So Ledermann was really forced to be as original as possible. The end design is both unique and feels perfect for someone like Arthur. The suit of Phoenix’s Joker resembles that of Caesar Romero’s, versus some of the more modern versions. Costume Designer Mark Bridges did a wonderful job meshing the clown aesthetic with this gritty world.

The editing process proved to be quite arduous as Phillips and editor Jeff Groth had to contend with so many different versions of Phoenix’s performance. Just look at his introduction on the talk show and the many different ways in which he entered. He never did the same take twice, meaning EVERYTHING could be shaped in the edit in such a drastically different way. Hildur Guðnadóttir (Goo-na-da-tear) composed the films score and she makes it a whole other character. In fact, outside of Arthur himself, the music has the second most prominent role in the story, really taking you on this journey with him.

Joker released on October 4th, 2019 and brought in over $96.2 Million on its opening weekend. The film would end its worldwide run at $1.074 Billion, making it the first R Rated movie to pass that milestone. Any way you cut it, Joker was a massive hit. But even still, reviews were middling with the film receiving just a 69% on Rotten Tomatoes. The Critical Consensus was that “Joker gives its infamous central character a chillingly plausible origin story that serves as a brilliant showcase for its star — and a dark evolution for comics-inspired cinema.”

The release was marred in controversy as The Joker character had become the mascot for a certain community of incels. There were concerns of a shooting happening similar to the one that occurred at the midnight screening of The Dark Knight Rises in Aurora, Colorado. Various agencies were warned of potential threats and several theater chains across the country banned the wearing of any Joker Costumes to any screenings. Three families of victims of the Aurora shooting requested that the movie not play at said theater, a request which Warner granted.

This extended to the marketing campaign, with several heated moments happening including one where Joaquin Phoenix stormed out of an interview after being asked if he was worried the film would inspire mass shootings. Phillips was perplexed at the backlash, The studio even released the statement:

“Make no mistake: neither the fictional character Joker, nor the film, is an endorsement of real-world violence of any kind. It is not the intention of the film, the filmmakers or the studio to hold this character up as a hero.”

In terms of these actors appearing elsewhere in the world of comic book cinema, Zazie Beetz had actually played Domino in Deadpool 2 just one year prior. Brett Cullen had actually played a Congressman in The Dark Knight Rises and Barton Blaze in Ghost Rider. Shea Whigham appeared as George Stacy in Across the Spider-verse.

This was easily the most controversial comic book film we’ve covered so far on the series. But it’s also arguably the most prestigious, being nominated for 11 Academy Awards and winning two of them: Hildur Guðnadóttir for Best Original Score and Joaquin took home the statue for Best Actor. This comic book movie was able to do the impossible and somehow received the accolades it was so deserving of. With Joker: Folie a Deux due next year, we’re going to get even more of Joaquin Phoenix’s disturbed take on the main character, with a heavy dose of Lady Gaga’s Harley Quinn thrown in. We can’t wait!