Now that we’re at 2019’s halfway point, I’d like to point out how most of this year’s Marvel and DC-based movies are behind us. With the likes of Captain Marvel, Shazam!, Avengers: Endgame and Dark Phoenix already in the books, our attention now turns toward Spider-Man: Far From Home and my most anticipated theatrical release of the year, Joker. Well, there’s also The Kitchen for you Vertigo aficionados, but that’s a very different beast.
To be honest, Joker will no doubt set itself apart from those other pictures mentioned because it doesn’t appear to be your usual superhero fare. Instead, we’ve been reassured to anticipate something more akin to Taxi Driver – but with a crazy painted clown instead. In fact, director Todd Phillips recently reminded us all that an R-rating is likely to be applied to his effort.
Keeping fans and reporters alike on their toes is Phillips himself, posting a new photo to his Instagram account (seen below) that was captioned with “finishing touches.” From the look of it, Phoenix’s Clown Prince of Crime is just about ready to complete his final layer of white makeup before adding the blue and red details.
Now, this isn’t the first time we’ve seen a Joker who isn’t “perma-white” in live action. Though Jack Nicholson, Jared Leto and Cameron Monaghan’s iterations adhered closer to the comic book origin, Cesar Romero and Heath Ledger also played guys who merely painted their faces.
As we’ve come to be teased, there could be other differences added to the Ace of Knaves’ beginnings, which I don’t mind seeing because this is meant to be a standalone tale. We could scoff at Phillips deviating from the source material, sure, but then we must consider the possibility of this simply being a good movie. I have a very positive feeling about this one, and can’t wait to find out how the plot unfolds.
Joker arrives in theaters on October 4th.