Warner Bros Pictures just released a lengthy teaser trailer for Joker, an origin story spotlighting one of the iconic Batman villains. The nearly two and a half minute trailer begins with Joaquin Phoenix as The Joker explaining that his mother used to tell him to put on a happy face and smile. She believed her son’s purpose was to bring joy to the world. However, clowns are easy targets and as an adult he’s picked on and assaulted.
In a world gone crazy, The Joker evolves from being bullied into a terrifying villain.
In addition to three-time Oscar nominee Joaquin Phoenix (Walk the Line, Gladiator, and The Master), the cast includes two-time Oscar winner Robert De Niro (Raging Bull, The Godfather: Part II), Zazie Beetz (Deadpool 2), Bill Camp (Red Sparrow, Molly’s Game), and Frances Conroy (American Horror Story, Castle Rock). Brett Cullen (Narcos), Glenn Fleshler (Billions, Barry), Douglas Hodge (Red Sparrow, Penny Dreadful), Marc Maron (Maron, GLOW), Josh Pais (Motherless Brooklyn), and Shea Whigham (First Man, Boardwalk Empire) are also part of the cast of the comic book-inspired film.
Director Todd Phillips, best known for R-rated The Hangover comedy films, co-wrote the movie with The Fighter‘s Scott Silver. Phillips, Bradley Cooper, and Emma Tillinger Koskoff produced Joker. Richard Baratta, Michael Uslan, Joseph Garner and Bruce Berman served as executive producers.
Todd Phillips’s behind the scenes team includes director of photography Lawrence Sher (Godzilla: King of the Monsters, The Hangover trilogy), production designer Mark Friedberg (Selma, The Amazing Spider-Man 2), editor Jeff Groth (War Dogs, The Hangover Part III), and Oscar-winning costume designer Mark Bridges (Phantom Thread, The Artist).
Joker will open in theaters on October 4, 2019.
The Plot:
“Joker centers around the iconic arch nemesis and is an original, standalone story not seen before on the big screen. Phillips’ exploration of Arthur Fleck (Phoenix), a man disregarded by society, is not only a gritty character study, but also a broader cautionary tale.”
