Does anyone else have chills? This new trailer reveals plenty of new clips from Joker, and may help to lay out the narrative of Todd Phillips’ upcoming comic book flick. And it looks like it’s going to be a super dark one.
This new trailer for Joker opens on Joaquin Phoenix’s Arthur Fleck, and shows how constantly the world around him is beating him down. While traveling on a bus in 1981 Gotham City, he’s immediately scolded by a mother for making her son laugh. We see the film’s protagonist in some sort of therapy session, with his counselor telling him it will be their last visit together. But he claims she was never doing a very good job, and that the only thoughts in his head are dark ones.
More glimpses of Arthur Fleck’s sad life are shown, as he’s living in squaller while attempting to become a comedian. To make ends meet he seemingly does odd jobs, including dressing as a clown and to advertise on the street. But Gotham City continues to beat him down, literally.
Heavily featured in this final trailer is Robert De Niro’s Murray Franklin, a popular talk show host. The character is an homage to De Niro’s role in The King of Comedy, although this time the tables are turned as he’s the host with the show. Murray Franklin is shown mocking Arthur Fleck’s stand-up set, an event that seems to change Arthur Fleck’s mood and possibly his fate in the movie.
Gotham City’s unrest is clear throughout this new footage, as there are a mass of people dressed as clowns and protesting outside of a showing of Charlie Chaplan’s classic Modern Times. This seems to delight Arthur Fleck, who is shown transforming his appearance to become the Joker that we know and love.
More to come…