The first trailer for the highly anticipated The Joker has arrived and get ready to see the giggly villain like you’ve never seen him before.
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It begins with the character Arthur Fleck‘s pre-Joker life as he lives with his mother and works as a clown on a city street.
“Does it help to have someone to talk to?” A therapist asks him.
“My mother always tells me to smile and put on a happy face,” the character says. “She told me I had a purpose — to bring laughter and joy to the world.”
A group of boys then torment Fleck while he is in costume, stealing his sign, running away and eventually smashing it in his face, causing him to pass out. His voiceover continues, “Is it just me, or is it getting crazier out there?”
The trailer continues with a montage of scenes highlighting the character’s mental health issues, his transformation into the villain and the rampage he would soon go on.
It concludes with Fleck speaking out of frame: “I used to think that my life was a tragedy, but now I realise it’s a comedy.”
Yesterday, Todd Phillips, the director of the standalone film, shared the first poster via Instagram and teased that the first trailer would be released today.
In the terrifying pic, Joaquin Phoenix appears with full Joker makeup (albeit smeared), leaning back and starring up at the title and tagline, “Put on a happy face.”
The Joker is set to be released later this year.
