"Put on a happy face"
The first poster for Joaquin Phoenix as the Joker has been released.
If you'll remember late last year, Todd Phillips' 'Joker' was cast into the spotlight for all the wrong reasons. After some footage shot for the film in New York city was leaked, there was also apparently uproar by extras on set, who were allegedly locked in subway cars, and denied breaks. Alec Baldwin ('30 Rock') had also been cast as Bruce Wayne's father, Thomas - before jumping ship, and leaving days later.
While our have our first official look at the Joker now - it doesn't actually reveal a hell of a lot. Here's the full poster for you to feast your eyes on, with barely half of Joaquin Phoenix's face on show.
Anticipation for 'Joker' is very high indeed. At a recent screening of the movie's first trailer at CinemaCon in Las Vegas, the crowd were supposedly stunned by what they saw. According to Collider, comparisons to Martin Scorsese and 'Taxi Driver' were made.
Speaking to NME recently, Phoenix's co-star Marc Maron ('Glow') spoke briefly about what angle the first stand alone movie based on the iconic Batman character will take. He said, "The approach that Todd Phillips has taken is more of an origin story and a character study of a mentally ill person that becomes The Joker. [...] It’s more of an intimate and gritty movie with a very specific scope. It’s going to be really interesting to see how it comes out."
Joining the cast of 'Joker' are Robert De Niro ('Taxi Driver'), Frances Conroy ('American Horror Story'), Zazie Beetz ('Deadpool 2'), and Douglas Hodge ('Red Sparrow') who is said to be playing Alfred Pennyworth, Batman's butler.
Still a while to wait until the film releases unfortunately, with it coming out in theatres on October 4th. To read up on everything we know so far about 'Joker' check out our article here.