Gotham Goes to the Clowns in Final JOKER Trailer

Erin Lynch

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Still image of Joaquin Phoenix as Arthur Fleck in JOKER

Today Warner Bros released the final trailer for the upcoming Joker film. While it offers us a better look at the story, it also sets the tone for the film. Needless to say, it’s a little creepy. So what have Joaquin Phoenix and director/writer Todd Phillips come up with?

The trailer starts with Arthur Fleck (Phoenix) on a crowded Gotham bus, making the child in front of him laugh. Unfortunately for him, the mother doesn’t like it. Things are spiraling out of control for Mr. Fleck. His therapist won’t see him anymore, his mother is dying, and he was made fun of on late night television. Fleck decides to take things into his own hands. He incites riots with people dressed up as clowns. He goes to Thomas Wayne (Brett Cullen) and laughs in his face. He even goes on the late night show that made fun of him, seeking revenge under his new moniker – Joker. His whole life he wasn’t sure he even existed but everyone will know him now.

I’m still on the fence with this film. It has the potential to be one of the greatest comic book movies of all time. Or it could flop like big clown shoes. I’m very interested to see this take on the character. Watching a man slip into madness isn’t something new. The thing I’m most looking forward to is seeing how he’s able to convince everyday citizens to riot. In a quick shot, we see a scared woman holding on to one of the clown masks the rioters wear. How the heck does she end up in all of this? Also how will a cynical mother like Sophie Dumond (Zazie Beetz) fall for Arthur Fleck? Thomas Wayne is supposed to be running for mayor – how will the clown epidemic affect that? It’s a lot to think about.

Check out the trailer below and tell us what you’re most looking forward to! Be sure to come back to Geek Girl Authority for more DC news. 

RELATED: Comics Not Involved: JOKER to Be Wholly Original

Joker is directed by Todd Phillips and stars Joaquin Phoenix, Robert DeNiro, Zazie Beetz, Marc Maron, Brett Cullen, Frances Conroy, Bill CampDante Pereira-Olson, and Douglas Hodge.

Director Todd Phillips “Joker” centers around the iconic arch nemesis and is an original, standalone fictional story not seen before on the big screen. Phillips’ exploration of Arthur Fleck, who is indelibly portrayed by Joaquin Phoenix, is of a man struggling to find his way in Gotham’s fractured society. A clown-for-hire by day, he aspires to be a stand-up comic at night…but finds the joke always seems to be on him. Caught in a cyclical existence between apathy and cruelty, Arthur makes one bad decision that brings about a chain reaction of escalating events in this gritty character study.

The clown prince of crime stalks to theaters on October 4th, 2019.

 

 

Erin Lynch

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