Joker Origin Movie: 9 Key Influences You'll See In Joaquin Phoenix's Performance

1. Martin Scorsese

Martin Scorsese may no longer be producing the movie - his frequent collaborator Emma Tillinger Koskoff is, however - but his fingerprints are still going to be all over it, with the movie heavily inspired by The King of Comedy as much as it is The Killing Joke.

The story of a man who fails at every attempt to make it in the entertainment industry, and is put upon a warped path because of it, is one that fits the Joker perfectly well. Seeing him as a person who is unhinged and believes he's destined for stardom, only to actually get up on stage and be rejected, is a tantalising prospect that meshes nicely with The Killing Joke, keeping elements of the latter's plot but taking on the black comedy tone of Scorsese's movie. .

As if it wasn't clear enough, there's also the meta-casting of Robert De Niro - the star of The King of Comedy - as a talk-show host, aka the kind of character targeted in Scorsese's movie.

That kind of storyline also lends itself well to some Taxi Driver influences too, to continue the Scorsese vibe, with a loner's descent into insanity and violence leading him to try and assassinate a political figure, in this case Thomas Wayne. The inclusion of The Guess Who's Laughin - which includes the line "What, you laughing at me" - really was perfect.

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