Joaquin Phoenix's The Joker takes a smoke break in new set photo

As director Todd Phillips (War Dogs, The Hangover trilogy) continues to work on his stand-alone The Joker movie, he shared a candid photo of star Joaquin Phoenix taking a break on set to Instagram. Phoenix, clad in full clown makeup, lounges back on a desk in a bright purple suit while enjoying a cigarette on his short break.

“On set. Five minute break,” the director wrote in the caption. He also credited cameraman Niki Tavernise for the shot itself.

Phillips is co-writing and directing the Joker film. It will explore the life of a man destined to become Gotham City’s Clown Prince of Crime. The story takes place in the ’80s, outside of the DC Extended Universe series of films. Early word suggests that Joker‘s tone is being compared to Martin Scorsese’s Taxi Driver and The King of Comedy. That’s fitting, because Scorsese is also co-producing the Joker movie.

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Joaquin Phoenix is slated to play the title character of Joker, with Robert De Niro (The Comedian, Dirty Grandpa), Zazie Beetz (Deadpool 2, Atlanta) and Marc Maron (GLOW, Roadies) playing supporting roles. Joker is now filming in New York City, and it is expected to hit theaters on October 4, 2019.