Joaquin Phoenix sends chills down the spine in mayhem video from 'Joker' sets

If you had any doubts about Joaquin Phoenix's turn as the new clown prince of crime, the latest video from the sets of 'Joker' will clear all grey clouds. Looking absolutely terrifying (like a true blue DC supervillain), the actor induces some serious waves of chill as he calmly walks out of a subway station in the on-set footage, puffing his cigarette and maintaining his nonchalant strut throughout. 

What exactly happens right before the said scene is not that clear. However, from the looks of the after-effect, it is pretty evident that the Joker has struck mayhem again. As soon as Phoenix's character, Arthur Fleck, struts out, in fact, a bunch of officers in uniform are seen hurrying towards the station with bystanders witnessing the entire episode in bewilderment.

If anything, the footage is quite telling. Not only does it offer a glimpse of the nonchalant demeanor of the DC villain but also ties in with the previous set photos that teased Joker's scenes in the subway.

In the series of pictures, a bunch of other clowns appeared to have take over a subway train with signs reading "Kill the rich", "Blame Wayne"; leaving Arthur, who is decked top to toe in his typical colorful attire and Joker makeup, visibly distraught. To escape the sudden invasion, in fact, Phoenix's character seemingly gets rid of his makeup and exchanges his costume for a rather low-key hoodie and cardigan.  

While not much official description is available at the moment, the pictures seem to indicate the Todd Phillips-directed Joker origin movie might take an acutely socio-political angle. The film, supposed to be "an exploration of a man disregarded by society [that] is not only a gritty character study, but also a broader cautionary tale," has indeed been taking shape in the last few months, with production being in full swing. 

"I wouldn’t say it’s a superhero movie, or a studio movie or a … It feels unique, and I think more than anything, and probably the most important thing, is Todd seems very passionate about it and very giving, and so that’s exciting. I think, underneath the excitement of these films, and the size of them, there are these incredible characters that are dealing with real life struggles," Phoenix said in a recent interview, explaining the direction of his Joker feature. 

"And sometimes that is uncovered and exposed, and sometimes it isn’t, and so I always felt, like, there were characters in comics that were really interesting and deserve the opportunity to be kind of studied. And so I think that’s what Todd sees appealing about this idea." 

Co-starring Robert De Niro, Zazie Beetz, Frances Conroy, Marc Maron, and Brett Cullen, the 'Joker' is currently scheduled to arrive in theaters on October 4, 2019.