Watch the video to see this terrifying look at Willem Dafoe as the Joker!
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00:00There have been many very good and some less-than-great versions of the Joker,
00:04but whenever people discuss potential casting for Batman's iconic nemesis,
00:08you can be fairly sure that Willem Dafoe's name is mentioned.
00:11Dafoe was actually in consideration to play the Joker in Tim Burton's Batman,
00:15and although the role has eluded him over the years, his instantly recognizable features and
00:19particular strengths as an actor still make him seem like an obvious choice for the role.
00:23Sure, Dafoe is now in his 60s, and as such, it might be challenging for him to portray a
00:27supervillain. Spider-Man No Way Home, of course, thoroughly debunked that idea in 2021.
00:32In that movie, Dafoe handedly reprises his terrifying role as Norman Green Goblin Osborn,
00:36who's just as off-kilter as the Joker, but far more physically intimidating.
00:40What's more, Dafoe's one condition to revisit the role was that he be allowed to do his own
00:44fight scenes. As anyone who's seen him gleefully manhandle Spider-Man can attest, the actor still
00:49clearly has what it takes to bring both the drama and the physical presence in any supervillain
00:53role he chooses to play. And as far as the Joker's requisite creepy laughter goes,
00:58Dafoe once again shows in No Way Home that there are few who can match him on that front.
01:05Is it any wonder, then, that people are once again boarding the Dafoe Joker hype train?
01:09In fact, one artist has even created an image that shows just how creepily effective Willem
01:13Dafoe could be as the Joker. In this image by digital artist El Illusionista, it's evident
01:18just how easily Willem Dafoe could slip into the role of the Joker. The picture shows a
01:23Jokerified version of Dafoe with all the classic aspects of the character — green hair, red lips,
01:28pale skin, a wild grin, and a fashion sense that skews toward the color purple. It's clear that
01:32the Joker in the image is in the middle of something, since he has a spattering of blood,
01:36or perhaps red makeup, in the corner of his mouth and a fresh cut on his forehead.
01:40Judging by the character's fixed gaze and the snowy cityscape visible in the background,
01:44it wouldn't be outside the realm of reason to assume that he's locked in a rooftop showdown
01:48with the Dark Knight himself. All in all, this is a very impressive Joker. What makes the image
01:52even more astonishing is the fact that it's surprisingly close to what Dafoe looks like
01:56in his everyday life, color pattern notwithstanding. As the last image of the artist's post reveals,
02:01the image of Dafoe as the Joker is based on a photo of the actor laughing.
02:05While the colors in the background have been changed to fit the Joker theme,
02:08it's clear that Dafoe's features are the same in both photos, right down to the hairstyle
02:12and the configuration of the lines on his face. Even with the knowledge that Dafoe is uniquely
02:16suited to play the villain, it's almost shocking to see just how casually he can contort his face
02:21into a Joker-worthy grin. The Dafoe for Joker fancasting has been going on for quite a while,
02:26and in a January 2022 interview with GQ, Dafoe noted that he's very familiar with it.
02:31In fact, people have been nudging him about the whole Joker thing for years.
02:34This, it appears, has piqued the actor's imagination, and he's come up with at least
02:38one possible scenario for tackling the iconic role. Though, as is so often the case with the
02:43roles Dafoe picks, it'd come with a twist. He told GQ,
02:47There is something interesting about, like, if there was a Joker imposter.
02:50So it would be possible to have not dueling Jokers, but someone that claims to be the
02:54Joker that isn't the Joker. Dafoe also revealed his ideal dance partner for such a movie,
02:58and it's none other than Joaquin Phoenix, the star of Todd Phillips' Joker. Dafoe said,
03:03And that kind of opens up the possibility of an interesting story, particularly if you had
03:08Joaquin Phoenix's Joker, and then you had someone who was either imitating or riffing off what he
03:12did. I fantasized about that. But other than that, I'm not talking to anybody about it.
03:16You're the first one. Dafoe, of course, was quick to pump the brakes after sharing his vision,
03:21and he probably wouldn't discuss such a project if it was actually in the works.
03:26What?
03:27Still, the idea of Dafoe's fake Joker going up against Phoenix's version of the real one is
03:31indeed intriguing. After all, considering that Phoenix won the Best Actor Oscar for his role
03:35in Joker, why wouldn't a potential sequel double down with not one, but two Academy Award-worthy
03:40Jokers?