In the final trailer for “Joker,” the infamous villain finally gets his name.
In the origin story for the iconic Batman villain, Joaquin Phoenix, dressed in his clown face-paint and colorful suit, asks a talk show host played by Robert De Niro, “can you introduce me as Joker?”
We haven’t seen much of De Niro in previous trailers for the film, and the footage confirms what we’ve known about “Joker,” for some time, that it makes some very clear nods to Martin Scorsese movies, specifically De Niro’s “The King of Comedy.”
In the latest trailer, Joker gets his big break when he appears on De Niro’s talk show, only to find that the host is mocking him.
But the trailer also hints at Phoenix’s dip further into mental illness and insanity, as well as how Joker gets caught up with a protest of other working clowns throughout Gotham City. This look also features a particularly strong scene of Phoenix in a therapist’s office as he’s learning that their sessions are about to end.
“You don’t listen, do you,” Phoenix says. “You just ask the same questions every week. How’s your job? Are you having negative thoughts? All I have are negative thoughts.”
Todd Phillip’s “Joker” makes its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival this week. Zazie Beetz and Marc Maron also star in the drama that Warner Bros. is releasing.
Watch the trailer for the film before it hits theaters this Oct. 4 above.