This year's new Joker movie starring Joaquin Phoenix--known simply as "Joker"--will be rated R, director Todd Phillips has confirmed. Not only that, but the director shared a new image from the DC movie's set that shows Phoenix looking into a mirror applying his Joker makeup.
Regarding the rating, Phillips said in reply to a fan on his Instagram post, "It will be rated R. I've been asked about this a lot. Just assumed people knew."
The way he said it, Phillips seems certain the new Joker film will be rated R. However, the MPAA--which decides ratings in America--has yet to issue an official rating. That said, studios can plan in advance and often target a specific rating.
The R stands for Restricted. According to the MPAA, an R-rated movie "contains some adult material." People under the age of 17 cannot see an R-rated movie without a parent or adult guardian accompanying them.
As for the new image, it shows Phoenix sitting in front of multiple mirrors. The makeup was done by Nicki Ledermann. It's a lovely image, and you might get to see more behind-the-scenes shots. In the comments of his Instagram post, Phillips said the team would "love" to release some sort of photo book of stills. The image was shot by Niko Tavernise, who Phillips says is "truly one of the best still photographers working in movies; we were so lucky to have him on set."
Joker opens in theatres on October 4. It's something of a change for director Todd Phillips, who previously made the Hangover and Old School comedies. He also wrote for Borat, which earned him his Oscar nomination.
Joker also stars Robert De Niro, Zazie Beetz, Marc Maron, and Frances Conroy. You can watch a trailer above.
