When director Todd Phillips gave us our first look at Joaquin Phoenix in full Joker makeup, many people noted the stark contrast to the version portrayed by Jared Leto. Whereas Phoenix’s makeup looked like something you’d see a party clown wear, Leto’s Joker took a wildly different approach by taking on the appearance of a tattooed mobster.
I bring this up because it looks like Phillips is trying to get as far from Leto’s version as possible. The director shared yet another picture of Phoenix’s Joker, this time dressed in ragged clothes, extra large shoes, and a brightly colored wig. In other words, he looks like someone who’s taking a break from entertaining a children’s party.
There’s no context surrounding the image, so we’re not sure why Phoenix is dressed like he is. It could be that his character, Arthur Fleck, takes up the vocation as child entertainer in-between his gig as a stand-up comedian. Or it could be his preferred attire on his way to becoming the Joker.
The Joker movie will give the character an origin story and explore his psyche as he descends into Batman’s psychotic arch-nemesis. We’ll see how everything pans out when the film hits theaters in October 2019.
