Filmmaker and famed podcast host Kevin Smith is quite impressed by the latest trailer for the upcoming DC Comics film Joker, starring Academy Award-nominee Joaquin Phoenix as the Clown Prince of Crime.
Kevin Smith is no stranger to the comic book community, being a devoted fan and commentator of such beloved characters as seen in both the panels and screens both big and small. Kevin Smith also directed a couple of episodes for the Arrowverse shows The Flash and Supergirl.
After watching the latest trailer for Joker, Kevin Smith is particularly excited to see Joaquin Phoenix leading an unconventional film in the genre and emphasizes how he sees it as the “least comic-book-looking comic book movie ever” marketed on such a large scale.
You can see Kevin Smith’s tweet praising the trailer for Joaquin Phoenix’s Joker down below:
WOW! Looks like the @jokermovie would still work even if @DCComics didn’t exist (aside from the Joker coming from there). Least comic-book-looking comic book movie ever marketed to a mass audience and I’m here for it! The Joker as both Travis Bickle and Rupert Pupkin is sublime! https://t.co/Wn7172sXtK
— KevinSmith (@ThatKevinSmith) August 28, 2019
Kevin Smith compares Joaquin Phoenix’s take on The Joker to Robert De Niro’s roles as Travis Bickle and Rupert Pupkin in the Martin Scorsese films Taxi Driver and The King of Comedy respectively. This is no surprise given that the Todd Phillips-directed film has been said to be inspired by Scorsese as well as the involvement of De Niro as a talk show host that Joaquin Phoenix’s character seems to be obsessed with.
Do you agree with Kevin Smith? What do you make of this Joker trailer? Sound off in the comments below, and be sure to continue following Heroic Hollywood for all the latest news regarding Kevin Smith and the future of DC Comics on both film and television.
Here is the synopsis for the film:
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.
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: Twitter
