No laughing matter: Joaquin Phoenix says he doesn't care about your Joker expectations

We're all excited to see a standalone Joker film, but Joaquin Phoenix has the hardest job of all: giving a performance that can stand beside Romero, Nicholson, Hamill, and Ledger.

He's got a lot of work to do and many fans have high hopes, but the Her actor takes a very Joker-esque outlook on the part, saying he doesn't pay much heed to the public's expectations. 

“I could care less,” he told IndieWire. “I don’t really think that much about what people think. Who cares, who cares? My approach to every movie is the same. What I’m interested in is the filmmaker and the idea of the character.”

Back in July, Phoenix voiced his admiration for Phillips and explained why he took the role:

"It feels unique, it is its own world in some ways, and maybe, mostly, it scares the f**king sh*t out of me or something. It might as well be the thing that scares you the most.”

Warner Bros. greenlit the film earlier this summer, with Todd Philips (The Hangover) directing and writing the script with 8 Mile's Scott Silver. Casting news began to fall into place not long after, as Zazie Beetz (Deadpool 2), Robert De Niro (The War with Grandpa), and Marc Maron (GLOW) joined the project. In particular, it is said that De Niro's part will mirror his role in 1982's The King of Comedy. 

Production on the Joker film begins in New York this fall, with the movie laughing into theaters Oct. 4, 2019.