Your Guide to the Surprising Number of Joker Movies Coming Out

Phoenix is starring in a gritty origin story about Batman's archenemy, the Joker, and it looks equal parts terrifying and tragic. This time around, we meet failed stand-up comedian Arthur Fleck (Phoenix) long before being bullied by society drives him down a path of destruction. According to the studio, Joker's story will pick up with the character in Gotham City in the early 1980s prior to his life as a criminal mastermind, resulting in an "exploration of a man disregarded by society [that] is not only a gritty character study, but also a broader cautionary tale."

Phoenix stars in the film alongside Zazie Beetz as a single mother who Arthur gets close to, Frances Conroy as Arthur's mother, and Robert De Niro as a talk-show host who has a hand in driving Arthur toward a life of crime. The film will arrive in theaters in October.