In 1981, a failed stand-up comedian turns to a life of crime and chaos in Gotham City, slowly rising up to become a frightening legend.

The first teaser for Todd Phillips'instantly drew more comparisons to Martin Scorsese's classic 1982 black comedy filmthan any particular storyline or graphic novel from DC Comics.Robert De Niro's character inwas named Rupert Pupkin, a stand-up comedian obsessed with a TV host, played by Jerry Lewis. Some fans are concocting wild theories that De Niro is playing the same character in Joker, which is clearly not the case.Speaking to Indiewire on those similarities, Robert De Niro explained, "However, it seems De Niro would have been up for making such an explicit connection between both films. "I‘That’s interesting, maybe we’ll try to do that.Just what kind of connection exists remains to be seen. Audiences will have to wait untilhits theaters on October 4.