The first Joker trailer has surfaced online, teasing a painful origin story for arguably the greatest DC Comics supervillains.
As expected, Joaquin Phoenix as Arthur Fleck, the socially-disregarded man destined to become the fan-favorite psychotic criminal mastermind, is front and center in the Joker trailer. But we also catch glimpses of a variety of other characters from the Todd Phillips venture, including Frances Conroy's Penny Fleck (Arthur's mother), Zazie Beetz's Sophie Dumond, Robert De Niro's Murray Franklin, Brett Cullen's Thomas Wayne, and Dante Pereira-Olson's young Bruce Wayne.
Set to Jimmy Durante's Smile, the trailer introduces Arthur as the guy who was told by his mother that his purpose in this life is to bring laughter and joy to the world. But then, footage of him getting repeatedly harassed and assaulted follows, and he begins to wonder if it is getting crazier out there. He eventually reaches the following conclusion:
I used to think that my life was a tragedy, but now I realize: it’s a comedy.
Of course, the Joker trailer doesn't give away too much plot-wise. But it succeeds in getting us all hyped up about the DC Comics adaptation. Judging by the nearly-two-and-a-half-minute-long promotional video alone, it feels like Phoenix manages to breathe new life into a character that has been portrayed brilliantly in the past by actors like Jack Nicholson and Heath Ledger. Here's the trailer for you!
Check out the official poster for the upcoming October 4 release that its director dropped on social prior to the trailer's launch!
Joker centers around the iconic arch-nemesis and is an original, standalone story not seen before on the big screen. The exploration of Arthur Fleck, a man disregarded by society, is not only a gritty character study, but also a broader cautionary tale.
