Joaquin Phoenix Joker origins movie gets official release date and title

After months of rumours and reports, Joaquin Phoenix's Joker origins movie has been given an official release date.

Simply titled Joker, the Warner Bros. and Village Roadshow production reaches cinemas 4 October 2019.

Phoenix finalised the deal to play Batman's arch-nemesis last month, The Hangover director Todd Phillips helming the movie.

Phillips, who co-wrote the screenplay with Scott Silver, called the movie an “exploration of a man disregarded by society [that] is not only a gritty character study, but also a broader cautionary tale.”

Joker has a budget of $55 million, significantly less than Warner Bros. tent-pole comic-book movies: the lowest budget recent DC movie has been Wonder Woman, at $149 million, while the highest was Justice League at $300 million.

Production begins later this year, the tone of the movie being much more experimental and darker than recent DC movies. Joker will likely not be connected to Suicide Squad, which featured Jared Leto as the iconic character.

There are also multiple other Joker-orientated projects in development with Leto's version, including Suicide Squad 2, a solo movie, and a Harley Quinn-Joker spin-off.