Taking a break from the politics for a few minutes, I noticed a trailer for the new Joker movie starring Joaquin Phoenix as the titular villain dropped. It fills me with hope for a new generation.

Put on a happy face. #JokerMovie – in theaters October 4. pic.twitter.com/TxF3Jqxjjr

— Joker Movie (@jokermovie) April 3, 2019

It looks good.

I am not going to lie. With the exception of Wonder Woman, I have been largely unimpressed with any DC movie in the last several years. As RedState’s foremost Batmanologist, however, I am excited for this movie, even if it looks to be a complete re-write of the character as we’ve known him.

You can put me solidly in the camp of those who think that The Joker doesn’t need an origin. It’s his lack of one that has made him such a force in comics. But, there is a lot of potential here, and Phoenix is probably the most right person for the role since the late Heath Ledger.

The fact of the matter is that the Joker is so iconic he alone is the most likely character to truly survive multiple interpretations and make it out unscathed. So, even if he doesn’t need an origin story (and having one can really hurt a character like him if done really, really badly),  I think he can survive it.

So, yeah. October 4, I’m going to the movies.