Recently, the first look at Joaquin Phoenix as the Joker began circulating the internet. But now we can see him in the full get-up as filming is underway in NYC. A video of Phoenix at a subway station in Manhattan shows the Joker getting off the train with a mask on as onlookers flee. TMZ was one of the first sites to report on the video. The mask is creepy enough, but his makeup manages to make his Joker look pretty spot on.
Joaquin Phoenix as the Joker: Phoenix on Wanting the Role
According to Forbes, Joaquin Phoenix previously stated in an interview with comicbook.com.
Three or four years ago, I called my agent and said ‘Why don’t they want to take one of these characters and just make a lower budget film about it, a movie but a character study, and why not take one of the villains? And I thought, ‘You can’t do the Joker, because, you know, it’s just you can’t do that character, it’s just been done.’ So I was trying to think of other characters, and he said ‘I’ll set up a general meeting with Warner Bros.’ And I said ‘I’m not gonna go, I can’t go to a general meeting.’ So I completely forgot about it, and so then I heard about this idea, I was like, ‘Oh that’s so exciting, that’s the kind of experience I wanted to have, with a movie based on a comic character.’ I felt like you could get something on screen.
Is What We See the Joker’s Final Look for the Screen?
Photo Credit: DC Comics
The footage released is hopefully close to what Joaquin Phoenix’s Joker will be like. The film seems to be going for a more classic look, similar to Cesar Romero’s Joker in the 1966 Batman TV series, but way more unsettling. Appearance for the role is nearly as important as the portrayal of the iconic character. Film-goers will hope that Phoenix does the role justice, as most were blown away by the late Heath Ledger’s Joker performance. You can take a look for yourself in the subway video below.
Phoenix Doesn’t Want to Classify the Movie into a Genre
The Joker is a comic book character and part of the DC comics universe of superheroes and villains. The upcoming flick, set to come out in October of 2019, is a separate spin-off with the Joker as the main focal point. Phoenix, however, told comicbook.com that he “wouldn’t quite classify this as like any genre. I wouldn’t say it’s a superhero movie, or a studio movie or a … it feels unique.”
Whether he believes it fits into a genre or not, Phoenix goes on to say that the characters in the superhero realm are “incredible characters that are dealing with real life struggles. And sometimes that is uncovered and exposed, and sometimes it isn’t, and so I always felt, like, there were characters in comics that were really interesting and deserve the opportunity to be kind of studied.”
Take a look at the Joker train video from Hollywood Pipeline’s Official YouTube Channel
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Joaquin Phoenix as the Joker in NY Subway Footage. Featured Photo Credit: © INSTAGRAM @TODDPHILLIPS1
