Meet Arthur.
Todd Phillips, director of the upcoming Joker movie, has shared a nice surprise this Sunday afternoon: our first good look at Joaquin Phoenix as the iconic clown, though perhaps a bit before he got all that iconic.
The image, which has as bit of an Andy Kaufman vibe to it, shows Phoenix as the Joker presumably before his Clown Prince-ification. The post, which also calls the character “Arthur,” confirms reports that the Joker’s real name in the film will be Arthur Fleck.
If you want more looks at Pheonix’s Joker, some set photos have surfaced of Phoenix in this get-up shooting some scenes with a more traditional clown. He boops him. It’s cute. For, uh, certain variations of cute.
The film, which is supposed to be an origin story for the villain, stars Joaquin Phoenix (and definitely not Alec Baldwin) and is set to release October 4, 2019.
