This October, director Todd Phillips and star Joaquin Phoenix will be introducing us to their version of the infamous Batman villain The Joker in the film JOKER, which is not connected to DC Extended Universe films like BATMAN V. SUPERMAN or SUICIDE SQUAD (which featured Jared Leto as The Joker). With a budget of $55 million, JOKER is said to be more like a grounded crime thriller than the average comic book movie, and a "dark character study" in the vein of TAXI DRIVER and THE KING OF COMEDY. That description appears to hold true in the newly released teaser trailer, which shows Phoenix's character Arthur Fleck going mad and slapping on clown makeup as he sets off on a life of crime.
Written by Phillips and Scott Silver, JOKER draws inspiration from the Alan Moore comic book The Killing Joke, in which
the villain was an unnamed failed comedian who struggles to make ends meet for his pregnant wife. When his wife is killed in a freak accident and a robbery he is forced to take part in disfigures his face, the comedian snaps, becoming the infamous Joker.
Phoenix is joined in the cast by Robert De Niro as a talk show host; Frances Conroy as Arthur's mother Penny; Marc Maron as an agent; Brett Cullen as wealthy mayoral candidate Thomas Wayne, father of future Batman Bruce Wayne; and Zazie Beetz as a single mother who catches Arthur's attention.
JOKER is scheduled to be released on October 4th. Check out the trailer below to get a taste of what Phillips and Phoenix have in store for us.