The DC Villain Origin Story On Max You Need To Watch Soon

With the backdrop of New York City in the 1980s, Joker follows Arthur Fleck (Joaquin Phoenix), a comedian and clown who just can’t seem to break into the industry. Arthur’s jokes are a touch too deep and dark for the crowds who he performs in front of and the way he carries himself in his day-to-day life makes him an outsider. Struggling with mental illness, Arthur finds himself at the center of the struggling city’s revolution against the 1 percent upper-tier class who seem to get everything they want.

Filmmakers like Christopher Nolan and Tim Burton have stayed true to the darkness dwelling inside the villainous character through their portrayals of him thanks to the brilliant acting from the likes of Heath Ledger and Jack Nicholson, respectively. But Joker’s director Todd Phillips takes things to an entirely different level with his reimagining that not only takes audiences on the mental downswing of the character but also paints him with enough humanity and backstory to really pull us in. 

And, while nabbing the incredibly talented Academy Award-winning Joaquin Phoenix is a great place to start with casting, the team only continued to up the ante for the rest of the production’s ensemble. If you thought you’d never see a legend like Robert De Niro (Taxi Driver) step foot in a superhero movie, Joker will change that as the iconic star plays a pivotal role in the production.

The movie also features the talents of Zazie Beetz, who is known for her roles in titles like Deadpool 2 and The Harder They Fall, as well as Golden Globe winner Frances Conroy (Six Feet Under) who delivers a showstopping performance as Arthur’s mother. 

Although it might soon be overtaken by Marvel’s Deadpool & Wolverine, Joker currently sits at the number one spot for top-grossing R-rated movies. The record-breaking film earned well over one billion dollars, proving that audiences were still interested in stories from DC, they just had to be done properly. With critics, the movie was hit-or-miss but enough of the former that it was soon revealed that, despite being created as a standalone project, a sequel to Joker would eventually end up on screens.

That catches us up to the present day and why you should check out Joker while it’s streaming on Max and before the next chapter lands in cinemas on October 4. The movie will pick up where the first left off, with Arthur Fleck now locked up in a mental institution where he crosses paths with Lady Gaga’s Harley Quinn. Both yearn to watch the world burn and will do it together with a hefty side of song and dance.