The battle between Heath Ledger's and Joaquin Pheonix's Jokers has begun, but did you spot these hidden references in the trailer?

"I used to think my life was a trdy, but w I realise it's a comedy," says Joker being played by Joaquin Phoenix in upcoming standalone film based on DC's most loved yet hated villain of all time. Warner Bros released first trailer of origin story directed by Todd Phillips at CinemaCon event in Las Vegas. It has only been a few hours, and comparisons between allegedly undefeatable Joker as played by Heath Ledger and Joaquin's own crack at twisted and menacing 'Clown Prince of crime' has alrey commenced.

official account of Joker movie as well as DC comics posted trailer on Twitter on April 3. 

Twitterati immediately caught on, pinpointing underlining meanings in dark, dingy 'real world' that shows creation and rise of maniacal character, story of a regular guy that grows into a creepy bdie. At time of publishing, both hashtags  - #Joker and #HeathLedger - are trending yet again. 

RE: "Put On A Happy Face": Intense Trailer Of 'Joker' Tells Origin Story Of Iconic DC Villain

comparisons don't end but here are a few references in trailer that must be highlighted:

1. trailer also shows Arthur (Phoenix) walking along streets of Gotham City, which in a way reflects streets that used to be depicted in comics with similar tones of shes to characters, with gloomy alleys, tall buildings and huge LED sign boards. More importantly, it shows 'Holmes Pharmacy' that hints at Sherlock Holmes, kwn to have crossed ways with Batman many times in comics. 

2. white blue and red masks worn in movie are a subtle reminder of mask worn by Heath Ledger in opening heist scene in Dark Night. 

3. trailer gives you first glimpse of famous - rar, infamous -  'Joker laugh' which, arguably, was pulled off so well by Heath Ledger's Joker that DC fans may still hear it when y close ir eyes. 

4. One of most brilliantly projected scenes in trailer is staircase scene, as in beginning, a gloomy and defeated Arthur ascends stairs and in end, as he descends same long flight he embraces gloominess of world that was wearing him down, and that has me him who he is. 

5. Also, trailer very briefly shows clips of Thomas Wayne, far of Bruce Wayne, who seems to be making a run for position of Mayor of Gotham City. He is criticising masked 'cowards' on Gotham's streets, referring to Joker. This also foreshows connections between Joker and Wayne family that resurface in Christopher lan's ' Dark Knight'.

re have been stories going around social media as to Ledger and Pheonix being friends. As Ledger's work represents an untouchable standard for many Batman fans, any or actor would have been hesitant to step into his clown shoes. But Phoenix h said that that is t case with Joker because comic book characters function differently from any or literary characters. He said that since comic book superheroes and villains have different runs and storylines written by different authors, many different interpretations of same character get created. 

movie carries shes of Martin Scorsese, with concepts of modern crime and guilt being a running me. film also stars Robert De Niro, Zazie Beetz, Bill Camp and Brett Cullen in le roles. This movie is also first of DC-based films that are separate from shared DC Extended Universe (DCEU). Jointly scripted by director Philips and Scott Siler, it is produced under banner of Warner Bros and DC Films.

Batman has a lot of enemies like Riddler, Penguin and Two-face, but one has charmed and enamoured people with his dark demeaur and compelling creepiness like Joker. For fans taking eir of two sides and raising questions, such as 'Will Phoenix's Joker to live up to Ledger's?' and 'Will it even come close?', answer will be revealed on October 4. 

Till n do what Joker's mor told him to do: "Smile and put on a happy face."