Walt Disney, take notes. From the looks of the new trailer for Joker, Warner Brothers is upping the "prequel" game. I put prequel in scare quotes for lack of a better term, since this movie is obviously not about Batman, nor is it a Batman movie. This is a story about the Joker and how he became him. If this new trailer is any indication of the final film, we have ourselves a dark force of compelling story-telling. Watch, and let's circle back:

Set aside your feelings for whatever actor you think best encapsulates the Joker and have an open mind. If there's anything more annoying than fierce loyalty to one actor for a role that's transcended time, I'm not sure what is. Well, maybe just AOC on her phone. What I just saw was a surreal performance by Joaquin Phoenix who should get some serious credit for pulling off an iconic character after Heath Ledger pulled off a surreal performance of an iconic character. The clown shoes were big to fill, yes, but Phoenix looks to have done his part rather well.

As far as I'm aware, no film has been made solely about the Joker. Meaning this isn't a reboot. It's not a remake. Rather, it's a fresh take on a franchise that's been made at least four times, depending on how you crack the math. Related Dear Hollywood: Enough with the Lazy Remakes.

Now in my personal opinion, DC Comics should stick to this tone and tell the Marvel fanbois to keep watching the color displays of Marvel. If DC wants to own the darker tone of films, they should go for it. No apologies, no capitulation, no trying to be something they're not. Let Marvel be the "fun" comic book movies with the quippy one-liners and jewel tones, and let DC take the darker, more complex stories. There's an audience for both.

Joker hits theaters October 4th.

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