Joker movie: Release date, cast, plot, trailer and more – all you need to know

The Joker movie starring Joaquin Phoenix is proving controversial.

Fans of DC Comics have long taken issue with the many adaptations of the clown prince of crime.

With Joaquin Phoenix as the Joker himself, there are high hopes for the stand-alone origin story – especially as the first reviews begin to creep in from the Venice Film Festival.

Express.co.uk brings you all you need to know on release date, cast, plot, and more.

What is The Joker movie release date?

The film will come out in the UK and USA on October 4, 2019 and fans in other countries can only hope it will be the same elsewhere.

But the film is already getting rave reviews from critics as it was screened at the Venice Film Festival.

The full list of upcoming DC movies can be read here:

WHO IS IN THE JOKED – WHO PLAYS ARTHER FLECK?

Who is in The Joker cast?

Joaquin Phoenix stars as the titular villain, whose original name director Todd Phillips has revealed to be Arthur Fleck.

In this incarnation, he will be seen as a stand-up comedian with some mental health issues, whose downfall partly comes at the hands of a talk show host, played by Robert DeNiro.

DeNiro has said his character pays homage to Rupert Pupkin, his character from Martin Scorcese’s King of Comedy.

Marc Maron (currently on Netflix’s TV series Glow) will play “an agent on Robert De Niro’s talk show who plays a part in booking Phoenix’s character, and eventually causing him to go mad and become the Clown Prince of Crime.”

Zazie Beetz will play single mother Sophie Dumond, who catches the eye of Fleck, whie Frances Conroy (a prolific actress most recently of American Horror Story fame) will play Penny, the Joker’s mother.

JOAQUIN PHOENIX AS THE JOKER – FIRST LOOK

Josh Pais will play Hoyt Vaughn, an old-school manager of hotel staff.

What is the plot of The Joker movie?

Other than the Joker’s real name, Arthur Fleck, and the above notes about the characters, the plot has been kept under wraps.

Director and co-writer Todd Phillips is said to have written an “exploration of a man disregarded by society [that] is not only a gritty character study but also a broader cautionary tale.”

Broadly, the film is about a stand-up comedian who, in failing to to achieve his goals, turns to a life of crime.

A video from the set which showed the Joker on the dingy street of Gotham, and was filmed in New York City’s Harlem neighbourhood.

The Joker is set for release on October 4, 2019.