Todd Phillips is bringing the Joker back to the big screen this coming October, with Joaquin Phoenix playing Arthur Fleck, a new take on the iconic DC character. As promised, the first trailer is here that shows just how different Joker is going to be from previous comic book movies. Oh, and it reveals Phoenix’s take on the character’s iconic laugh!

This trailer is a huge win. Just when it started to feel like character overkill, DC shifts gears and gives us a comic book movie with a purpose. Yes, Joker is a villain, but you can argue that even terrible people were born with a clean slate. What made them so awful? Joker looks to pull on our heartstrings and attempts to make viewers sympathize with this iconic baddie. What makes Joker tick? There appear to be deep layers of social commentary in what looks to be a tragic, dark, and dramatic new entry in the DC Universe. I’m quite frankly blown away.

“My mother always tells me to smile and put on a happy face.”

The cast also includes Frances Conroy, Robert De Niro, Zazie Beetz, Marc Maron, and Brett Cullen as Thomas Wayne, along with Bill Camp (Red Sparrow), Shea Whigham (Kong: Skull Island), Glenn Fleshler (“True Detective”), Josh Pais (“Ray Donovan”), Dante Pereira-Olson (You Were Never Really Here) and Douglas Hodge (“Penny Dreadful”).

The screenplay for Joker is co-written by Phillips (The Hangover trilogy) and writer Scott Silver (The Fighter), and based on characters from DC. It’s being produced by Phillips and Bradley Cooper under their Joint Effort banner, and Emma Tillinger Koskoff. It’s executive produced by Richard Baratta, Joseph Garner and Bruce Berman.

The Joker will arrive on October 4, 2019.