First Footage Of Joaquin Phoenix In Character As 'The Joker' Has Been Leaked

The first video that shows Joaquin Phoenix in character as DC Comics' Joker has emerged and it's - well - different.

First up, there's no green hair, no make-up, just a tan jacket and a floppy hairstyle. Not to worry though, because there would be no fun in making an origin story about a supervillain if you were just going to lay it all on the table during the first look.

Remember the build-up to Venom? It was ages before we saw Tom Hardy enveloped in the titular alien symbiote. That's just how hyping a film up on the way to release works nowadays.

That said, we did get a more insightful glimpse into the whole thing via Todd Phillips - who is on board to directed the as yet untitled flick - after he posted a shot of Phoenix on Instagram looking straight down the camera.

OK, again, he doesn't look much like the 'Clown Prince of Crime' yet, but that'll come.

The photo was simply captioned 'Arthur' which seems to confirm what had been speculated for some time now, that the Joker's real name is, in fact, Arthur Fleck.

The footage, which you can watch in the player below, shows 'Arthur' storming out of the back of a place called Amusement Mile - one for the real DC Universe anoraks, there - and sparking up a cigarette.

Eventually he is confronted by a clown, which is a bit more like what we're used to. He rips off the clown's nose and pelts it down the street.

Now, on its own, that teaches us the square root of nothing about the film, but The Hollywood Reporter has suggested something about the plot that offers a bit more.

They say that Arthur is about to make the transformation from a struggling stand-up comedian to a criminal mastermind. An interesting premise, sure enough.

They say that the film has been described as an "exploration of a man disregarded by society [that] is not only a gritty character study, but also a broader cautionary tale."

As well as Joaquin Phoenix, we've got Robert De Niro, Marc Maron, and Deadpool 2's Zazie Beetz to look forward to.

One person who is not going to be in it is Alec Baldwin. He recently dropped out, saying that he was 'no longer doing that movie' and that he'd been asked to play Bruce Wayne's dad but he had not 'been hired to play a role in Todd Phillips' JOKER as some Donald Trump manqué'.

Just to emphasise the point, he added: "That is not happening."

Well, the film is still happening, so that's good news at least.

Featured Image Credit: Backgrid

Topics: TV and Film, DC Comics, Joaquin Phoenix, US Entertainment, Hollywood, The Joker, Batman, Movie

Tom Wood

Tom Wood is a freelance journalist and LADbible contributor. He graduated from University of London with a BA in Philosophy before studying for a Masters in Journalism at the University of Salford. He has previously written for the M.E.N Group as well as working for several top professional sports clubs. Contact him on [email protected]

@TPWagwim