In the trailer for Todd Phillips’ musical sequel, we reveal all the details, including our first look at Lady Gaga and Joaquin Phoenix together as well as Harley Quinn and Arthur Fleck.
During a particularly hectic period for Warner Bros. Pictures and its erstwhile DC Films division, an intriguing rumor regarding two Joker movies in development emerged. With Jared Leto reprising his role as the broken clown prince of crime, the first film was intended to be an in-universe continuation of Suicide Squad plot concepts. The second idea seems even more insane: a low-budget stand-alone character study directed by Todd Phillips, the man behind the Hangover film series, that would have more in common with Martin Scorsese’s Taxi Driver and The King of Comedy than with any DC Comic.
The latter, starring Oscar winner Joaquin Phoenix, somehow went into production first. Joker turned out to be an unexpected hit, but the Leto project, which was related to DC, failed miserably. Warners, not wanting to interfere with a winning partnership, naturally persuaded the director and star to come back for a second dance under the soft moonlight.
However, how can Arthur Fleck’s tale go on? In addition, was the first movie based on true events, or was the Joker only making up a story to pass the time? Let’s review all of the information currently available about Joker: Folie à Deux.
“Folie à Deux” was one of the first details Phillips disclosed about the sequel’s development. When two or more persons in close ties share mental diseases with similar or identical signs, the phrase is used to describe them. The screenplay title page that served as the tease prompted fans and other media to believe the tease could only be referring to one person: Dr. Harleen Quinzel, also known as Harley Quinn.
Though their sexual relationship has not been featured in DC Comics for a while, Harley will always be remembered for launching her costume career as the Joker’s gun moll. Naturally, then, the conjecture led to her being the main novel element added to the tale. The assumption came to pass when it was revealed that Lady Gaga was in discussions to portray the role less than a week later.
Given that the two have a condition in common, it is reasonable to assume that the movie will focus on the how and why of their original collaboration. Regarding Harley’s past in DC Comics and Batman: The Animated Series, the show in which she made her debut, she was Dr. Quinzel, an Arkham Asylum intern who was a young psychologist who turned into one of the institution’s insane patients after attempting to cure the Joker. Here, a recounting of that beginning could be necessary. Or maybe one that was enhanced by Arthur’s distinct storytelling style and knowledge of the missing details. However, perhaps this is her opportunity to share a narrative. The April 2024 video teases Harley as an Arkham prisoner herself, with Dr. Quinzel and
But do you recall the vibe of the Taxi Driver that Joker used to paint Arthur’s picture of Gotham City? Gaga’s announcement coincided with the news that the sequel will also feature a musical. Arthur Fleck has never acknowledged being a fan of Martin Scorsese, but it appears the new film will borrow some ideas from the great filmmaker’s New York, New York, his musical follow-up to Taxi Driver, which starred Robert De Niro and Liza Minnelli as singers and saxophonists, respectively, who fall in love but have to deal with difficult realities off stage even as their careers soar. Scorsese wanted the movie to be a tribute to the classic MGM movie musicals, replete with more theatrical-looking settings, despite the gritty subject.
We know Arthur and Harley will perform a bizarre jukebox musical, but it’s unclear if Folie à Deux’s genre twist will imply unique songs are in the works. part have even suggested that Gaga may write part of the music for the movie herself. They even perform for an invisible audience in the teaser.
We also hope the mayhem gets a showstopping number, as we know Arthur will leave Arkham and start a riot or criminal spree. However, Nirvana’s “Something In The Way” might not be appropriate for everyone to use—the Batman already knows the song by heart.
Assuming that Arthur created the Taxi Driver Gotham of Joker while narrating his story to the audience, Folie à Deux can notice how Scorsese’s decisions in New York, New York, reframed the fair city. The sequel’s environment is somewhat more artificial but also more fantastical; it’s brighter but still starker.
That’s presuming Phillips will recreate New York, New York the way he recreated portions of Taxi Driver in the first film. It is possible he will choose less homage this time around and, perhaps, reveal what Gotham is really like. As it happens, location shooting in downtown Los Angeles already suggests an expansion of what Gotham City is – from an economically depressed New York of the 1970s to, perhaps, a neglected, but operatic burg constantly displaying its architectural ghosts?
However, the forgotten past of downtown Los Angeles could contribute to the artificiality of the Gotham movie musical. In either case, a lot of the town’s early 20th-century skyscraper claustrophobia should be retained.
Not to mention, the movie spent some time in New York, so there will be a nod to the original Gotham atmosphere. In addition, the film’s Arkham is the shuttered Essex County Isolation Hospital in Bellville, New Jersey, which gives the notorious fictitious mental institution a distinct vibe.
Thanks to the trailer, which showed a variety of extremely stagey set pieces and locales that continue to remind the Scorsese New York of the late ’70s, all of our conjectures about the setting turned out to be accurate. You practically have to ask yourself which one is Arthur’s hallucination. Is the other one Harley’s?
Phoenix reappears, of course, as Arthur Fleck. Arthur appears to have been eating throughout his stay at Arkham, as seen by on-set images taken during the filming in Los Angeles. The actor is not quite as skinny as he was in the first movie. The actor’s health will likely benefit from it, and it may also mean that Arthur has discovered a creature comfort he likes.
Phoenix isn’t the only recurring cast member from Joker, oddly enough. In the first movie, Zazie Beetz played the single mother Sophie Dumond who resided on Arthur’s floor. He insisted the two were becoming closer throughout the story, but a terrifying sequence toward the end of the movie showed that she doesn’t really know him. She may or may not have a significant role in the movie. Is Arthur going to hold onto his fantasy? Will Harley put her in counseling or anything to make him face a more impartial reality? Or will Sophie only be subjected to the torment of two progressively insane individuals?
Gaga will portray Harley, as was already mentioned. The actress appears to be embracing her role quite swiftly, based on set images and teaser video showing her in an outfit that is distinctly Harley-esque. Whatever name she chooses, though, her path is obvious. Will her relationship with Arthur last forever, or will it be the same pattern of cruelty and disregard that made Harley the Joker’s victim in both the animated and comic book forms?
In addition to the three, Brendan Gleeson, Catherine Keener, Jacob Lofland, and Harry Lawtey will be appearing in Folie à Deux. Though it’s unknown who they would portray, the possibilities include additional Arkham physicians, a young James Gordon, additional city officials, or further members of Arthur’s bizarre family. In addition, Steve Coogan will make an appearance in the movie, as the trailer disclosed. His brief appearance in the video leads one to believe that this time around, he is Arthur’s caseworker.
Returning to the director’s chair, Phillips collaborates with Scott Silver, who co-wrote the previous picture with the filmmaker, on the script. Lawrence Sher, the director of photography, Mark Friedberg, the production designer, and Hildur Guðnadóttir, the composer, are also back from the first movie. Arianne Phillips from Don’t Worry Darling and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood will replace Mark Bridges as costume designer.
Along with Bradley Cooper, Phillips is the picture’s producer. Executive producers are James Gunn and Peter Safran, the recently appointed co-CEOs of DC Studios, but don’t anticipate them to impose any integration with their developing film universe. Joker: Folie à Deux will be regarded as a “DC Elseworlds” production outside of the DC Cinematic Universe, as Gunn clarified in early 2023.
