Joaquin Phoenix Doesn’t Care What we Think About him as the Joker
Joaquin Phoenix is ready to play the Gotham super villain known as Joker, and he could care less what others think of that.
Joaquin Phoenix, who is no stranger to whispers about his behavior and performances on screen, is ready to take on the infamous villain in the way he sees fit, and approach it just like any other complex character he has played. I personally remember the chatter going around all over the web and by every water cooler when it was announced that Phoenix would portray Johnny Cash in the biopic Walk the Line. Most were questioning if he would be able to pull it off. I also remember that once Walk the Line did premiere, that same chatter on the web and those same water coolers was nothing but that of shock and admittance that Phoenix did a pretty remarkable job.
Here we are 13 years later, and Joaquin Phoenix is now set to star in a standalone film about Gotham City’s most infamous super villain, The Joker. Cue the chatter, the tweets and the opinions of everyone around the world!
Director Todd Phillips of The Hangover series is set to direct this origin centered standalone film about Batman’s infamous foe, and is said to be an actual comic book adaptation. Between the man who delivered a very raunchy-yet-popular franchise known as The Hangover, and the man who puts his melancholy eccentricity into any role, I can see where the potential audience and comic lovers can be concerned. This situation is no different than when Phoenix was cast as Johnny Cash. That casting choice paid off big time. Phoenix nailed it.
Despite the fact that people are huddling around together discussing this latest Joker revival (which as of now will have no ties to the DC Extended Universe), Phoenix himself has chimed in on the topic. He does not care.
According to IndieWire, Phoenix was quoted in response to a question about the pressure from fans and of playing such an iconic character;
“I could care less. I don’t really think that much about what people think. Who cares, who cares? My approach to every movie is the same. What I’m interested in is the filmmaker and the idea of a character.”
Even though we have plenty of time, giving Phoenix the benefit of the doubt and waiting on him to bring us something new and fresh to the Joker character may in fact be totally worth it.
Sure, Phoenix has not ventured out into the realm of DC or Marvel, but just because he has not been involved with those universes doesn’t mean we should count him out. He may just need a little experience and some time to grow the character.
To end with a quote from one of my favorite MCU characters Loki; “Experience is experience”.
Covering superheroes, anything dark, horror, and more! Lead writer for Fan Fest
