This October, we will finally get to see a solo film featuring Joker, the villain everybody loves to hate. The Clown Prince of Crime’s origin story will, naturally, be an R-rated one, director Todd Phillips confirms.
Phillips recently shared a still of Joaquin Phoenix as Arthur Fleck/The Joker on social media, with the caption “Finishing touches”, suggesting that the film is in post-production and will soon be ready for its impending release.
A fan asked about the film’s MPAA (Motion Picture Association of America) rating in the post’s comments, to which Phillips duly replied:
It will be Rated R. I’ve been asked this a lot. Just assumed people knew. Sorry.
This R rating makes perfect sense, as The Joker’s origin story (from what we’ve seen in the trailers so far) is no doubt a tragic one, riddled with violence. Arthur Fleck’s past as a clown plays a key role in his eventual transformation into The Harlequin of Hate.
Joaquin Phoenix looks to have really taken in the role of Fleck, having lost a considerable amount of weight to play this role.
Interestingly, Joker will only be the DCEU’s second R-rated movie, with the upcoming Birds of Prey and The Fantabulous Emancipation of Harley Quinn being the first to have been rated as such.
The fact that these two films will be rated R is indicative of Warner Bros. taking the DCEU in a slightly different direction. Of course, their mainstays such as Wonder Woman 1984, Justice League 2, the upcoming New Gods movie and the Robert Pattinson-led The Batman solo film will most likely reflect a lighter tone.
Joker will release in cinemas on October 3.
Marion has a serious RPG addiction. Sometimes it bleeds into real life; he forgets to sleep because he thinks he has a Witcher’s body clock. Forgive him in advance if he suddenly blurts out terms such as “Mind Flayer” and “Magic Missile”, because never once does he stop thinking about his next Dungeons & Dragons game.
Natalie
