A few days ago, a batch of set pics surfaced online which featured Joaquin Phoenix running though the Bronx as part of the upcoming Joker movie, and now we can watch this chase in motion, with a new video showing Arthur Fleck evading two Gotham City police detectives, played by Shea Whigham and Bill Camp.
While previous set footage from the Todd Phillips-helmed flick has shown the Clown Prince of Crime casually strolling away from a crime scene in a manner reminiscent of Heath Ledger, in this latest Hollywood Pipeline post, we see genuine panic on Phoenix’s face as he makes his frantic escape. The only moments where he slows down are when he gets hit by a taxi (or at least his stunt double does), and when he bumps into a man on the streets wearing a face like his.
We’ve sure been seeing a lot of clown imagery from the Joker’s first standalone film, with photos from a few months ago exhibiting a whole army of flamboyant-looking figures storming the New York subway. In fact, even when Arthur isn’t in his villainous persona, he seems to work a day job that requires him to put on white makeup and a green wig.
While the film’s first official synopsis still leaves much to the imagination, it certainly looks like the Joker becomes a notorious public figure, with various leaked pics showing admiring, clown-faced crowds following the character while holding up slogans like “Clown4Mayor” and “Kill the Rich.” So while the law may not be too fond of Arthur, it’s possible that his anarchic ways will only make him more popular.
We’ll see how it all goes wrong in this alleged cautionary tale when Joker hits theaters on October 4th, 2019.