Joaquin Phoenix’s ‘Joker’ Will Be Intimate & Gritty Character Study Of Mentally Ill Person

During an interview with NME, Joker star Marc Maron discussed how the upcoming Joaquin Phoenix film will be an intimate and gritty character study.

Director Todd Phillips’ Joker film is expected to offer a unique take on the classic Batman villain, with Joaquin Phoenix being the latest actor tasked with bringing the Clown Prince of Crime to life. Actor and comedian Marc Maron will also appear in the film and the WTF Podcast commented on how the film will be more of a character study than most comic book films, which factored into why he joined the project:

“I think it’s a very interesting approach to this world. I’ve been somewhat judgemental when it comes to comic book movies and I’ve got a little pushback in the press for being a hypocrite. Whatever I think, if you get a call and someone says, ‘Hey do you wanna do a scene with Robert De Niro and Joaquin Phoenix?’ your principals fall to the wayside. If it’s relative to what I think of Marvel movies then it’s like, ‘Yeah, of course I’m gonna do that’. Oddly, it’s not that kind of movie. The approach that Todd Phillips has taken is more of an origin story and a character study of a mentally ill person that becomes The Joker.

Marc Maron added:

“It’s’s more of an intimate and gritty movie with a very specific scope. It’s going to be really interesting to see how it comes out.”

Are you excited to see Joaquin Phoenix’s take on the classic Batman villain? Let us know 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, and Shea Whigham.

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

Source: NME