This ‘The Dark Knight’ Concept Art May Have Inspired ‘Joker’ Makeup Design

A fan on Reddit recently made the interesting observation that some concept art from 2008’s The Dark Knight looks eerily similar to the design of Joaquin Phoenix’s makeup for next year’s Joker.

There are plenty of comic book movies releasing next year that are worth getting excited for. One of them in particular though seems to be so drastically different than anything else, Todd Phillips’ Joker. Aside from the mutant horror movie The New Mutants, Joker is priming up to be one of the darkest comic book films set for release next year, so it makes sense that one film that it would draw some inspiration from is none other than the Christopher Nolan-directed classic The Dark Knight.

The Dark Knight opens with an iconic sequence featuring Heath Ledger’s Joker robbing a bank with a crew of mask-wearing criminals. Of course, when the sequence was being put together, they had to go through all different kinds of mask designs before getting the right look. A Reddit post from user OwnTheKnight takes one of those unused pieces of concept art and points out some pretty major similarities between Phoenix’s Clown Prince of Crime and the superhero classic, which just celebrated its ten-year anniversary this past July. Check out the images in the post below.

The designs are certainly similar but not in the sense that it looks like a rip-off, more like an homage to the beloved Batman Begins sequel. Set photos from Joker have revealed that there will be other Gothamites donning clown masks in the name of the clown prince of crime, but no photos have been revealed yet showing if he will actually have his gang of goons as he does in the comics, cartoons, and films.

We’ll be sure to keep you updated on all news regarding Joker and the entire DC Extended Universe as soon as more information becomes available. What’s your opinion on the images? Do they look too similar or is it a nice homage? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!

“Joker” centers around the iconic arch nemesis and is an original, standalone story not seen before on the big screen. Phillips’ exploration of Arthur Fleck (Phoenix), a man disregarded by society, is not only a gritty character study, but also a broader cautionary tale.

Directed by Todd Phillips from a script he co-wrote with Scott Silver, Joker stars Joaquin Phoenix, Zazie Beetz, Bill Camp, Frances Conroy, Brett Cullen, Glenn Fleshler, Douglas Hodge, Marc Maron, Josh Pais, Shea Whigham, and Robert De Niro.

Joker will be released in theaters on October 4, 2019.

Source: Reddit