'Joker' arrives in Irish cinemas on October 4th
'Joker' has played by so many actors that it basically behoves any actor going into it to put their own stamp on it.
Heath Ledger played him like a terrorist in 'The Dark Knight', Jack Nicholson made him into an insane spectacle in 'Batman', Jared Leto did... well, something in 'Suicide Squad' and now, Joaquin Phoenix's iteration of the character is here.
How does it vary from these, you might ask? Well, if this trailer is anything to go by, it really is going for something disturbing. The character, Arthur Fleck, is someone who's consistently beaten down and brutalised by the world and snaps when it all becomes too much to handle. There's also - again, using the word a lot - a disturbing relationship between him and his mother, a glimpse at the Arkham State Hospital (which is presumably Arkham Asylum), and Robert De Niro's character, talk-show host Murray Franklin.
Batman, as you'd expect, doesn't feature in this - however, Thomas Wayne, played by Brett Cullen, is in there and talks about how "Gotham has lost its way" and how about someone who could do something so cold-blood "hides behind a mask."
It really is an intriguing look at a well-worn familiar character, but done with an intensity that hasn't been seen before. Basically, we're very excited about this.
'Joker' arrives in Irish cinemas on October 4th.