Fans got their first glimpse of Joaquin Phoenix’s Joker as he shot a scene for the new film directed by Todd Phillips. The Joker origin film produced by Martin Scorsese is rumored to be a look at the Clown Prince of Crime’s descent into madness.

Both director and star have been adamant in telling the public that this is not a comic book movie, but instead a low budget and gritty look at one of pop culture’s most infamous villains. In the photos and clip, we see Phoenix spitting on a door in Amusement Mile, smoking, and having a chilling interaction with a clown.

On the surface, the movie looks like it may work. Even with the small peek fans were given, the scene gives you a sense of unease and unpredictability. A startling feat for two minutes of soundless footage.

Phoenix has been vocal about ‘not caring’ what fans think of his depiction of the Joker. That the movie is about the director’s vision and his ability to portray that.

“I don’t really think that much about what people think,” Phoenix told IndieWire. “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.”

Therein lies the issue. Todd Phillips released one word with the shared head-shot of Joaquin Phoenix’s character, “Arthur.”

Arthur Fleck the Phillips’ dubbed ‘real name’ of Gotham’s greatest villan. But if fans are searching their comic books to find a reference to it, they will be sorely disappointed.

Phillips’ movie is a completely reimagined backstory for the Joker.

In the rumored synopsis Arthur moves back to Gotham to care for his ailing mother Penny, who was ‘very attractive in her youth’, and ‘obsessed with her former employer.’

Reports have also stated that Thomas Wayne plays a major part in the storyline. There is a notiable divation to the sacrificial father comic book fans are familiar with. This Thomas Wayne is a tanned and slimy businessman akin to an “80s era Donald Trump,” played by actor Brett Cullen.

Theorists have deduced these details could mean that Philips intends to make the Joker and Batman half-brothers. Sources have been stating this film is to be the big reveal of DC Films new film division labeled DC Black or DC Dark. This new label is said to embrace the R-rating and push the boundaries of these iconic characters. Supposedly, with the Joker movie they are setting up the division’s own non-concurrent timeline that possibly could tie-in Reeves’ The Batman.

Fans had been asking for a darker take on their favorite DC characters but is this reimagining everything they asked for? Creating a new backstory for such an iconic character just to fit a narrative is risky, but Phillips and Phoenix feel the story will make up for it:

“It feels unique, it is its own world in some ways, and maybe, mostly, it scares the fucking shit out of me or something. It might as well be the thing that scares you the most.”

All fans can do is wait until October of next year to see if Phillips’ vision can hold it’s own against fan’s loyalty to the Batverse canon. However, it seems that Phillps may be taking a page from the Clown Prince’s playbook, as one fan realized when dissecting the Joker’s new name.

A. Fleck?

Now that is funny.