9 Upcoming 2019 Movie Performances That Will Blow You Away

1. Joaquin Phoenix As The Joker (Joker)

Joaquin Phoenix Joker
Warner Bros.

One of the best things about the superhero genre's rise to power is that we now live in a world where Hollywood A-listers - of the very highest calibre - are open to appearing in comic-book movies.

Joaquin Phoenix is one such high-calibre A-lister, easily one of the most respected actors on the planet - and with good reason. Notoriously choosy with his projects, it was a huge surprise to hear he'd be playing the Joker, but that surprise quickly turned to excitement once that news actually began to sink in.

Phoenix doesn't take small roles, lacklustre roles or easy roles; he plays characters with real depth, roles that allow him to fully lose himself. Letting him tackle the most unhinged, twisted and slippery character in pop-culture history is essentially giving a master craftsman the thumbs-up to be as daring as he likes. Early shots of the actor in makeup are as unsettling as they are weirdly amusing, the perfect mix for the Joker, and evidence that Phoenix really has a grasp on how to make his own incarnation of the character feel fresh and exciting.

His performance may not top Heath Ledger's iconic turn, but at the very least, we can expect Phoenix to try something unique, and equally as audacious. He'll blow us all away, just in a different way.

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Which of these 2019 performances are you most excited about? Let us know in the comments section!

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Contributor

Danny has been with WhatCulture for almost nine years, and is currently Doctor Who Editor and WhoCulture Channel Manager, overseeing all of WhatCulture's Whoniverse coverage. He has been writing and video editing for 10+ years, and first got a taste for content creation after making his own Doctor Who trailers and uploading them to YouTube (they're admittedly a bit rusty by today's standards). If you need someone to recite every Doctor Who episode in order or to tell you about the making of 1988's Remembrance of the Daleks, Danny is the person to ask.