Joaquin Phoenix Is The New Clown Prince Of Crime In The Disturbing ‘Joker’ Trailer

Ever since it was first announced, DC’s Joker spin-off has been something off a bizarre proposition. Directed by the man behind the Hangover trilogy and a documentary about poo-happy punk rocker G. G. Allin, executive produced by Martin Scorsese of Taxi Driver fame, and starring notoriously intense character actor Joaquin Phoenix, it was never clear how seriously the film was going to end up taking itself.

Well, the first trailer for the film is here, and… it’s still not particularly clear.

Our first glimpse of the film is pretty short on plot, character motivation and pretty much everything but atmosphere, as we follow Arthur Fleck (Phoenix) as the world grinds him ever further down towards complete mental collapse.

We also get brief glimpses of Shea Whigham’s stern-faced police officer (a young commissioner Gordon?), Zazie Beetz as Sophie, Arthur’s love interest, and a great deal of clown make-up.

So yeah, we’re still not sure what the hell is going on with this one. But hey, count us down?

Joker hits cinemas on October 4.