BEHIND THE SMILE: If Heath Ledger portrayed the Joker as a psychotic villain, Joaquin Phoenix is making him more human

Teasing what lies in store for die-hard fans of this comic book character, 'The Hangover' director recently released a first look image of the Joaquin Phoenix-played Joker

So far, DC fans have been treated to multiple, contrasting versions of the comic book supervillain, Joker. From a psychotic, mad clown (portrayed by Heath Ledger) to chaotic Batman nemesis (Jared Leto), almost every aspect of the supervillain spectrum has been touched upon, except for the humanized and more subtle iteration of the Joker. 

What was the DC villain like before he went completely rogue? Was he ever a regular man with redeemable qualities? Perhaps, this is the angle that Todd Phillips-directed upcoming Joker origin movie is aiming to explore. Teasing what lies in store for die-hard fans of this comic book character, 'The Hangover' director recently released a first-look image of the Joaquin Phoenix-played Joker - which, to say the least, is a more subdued version of all the Jokers we have seen before. 

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