Prior to the Venice premiere of the 'Joker' sequel, director Todd Phillips has shared whether or not a third chapter is on the cards for the series - the first of which became the first R-rated film to gross over $1 billion worldwide.
ADVERTISEMENTJoker: Folie à Deux, the Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga-led sequel to 2019’s Oscar-winning Joker, is about to premiere during the upcoming Venice Film Festival.
Prior to the big reveal, director Todd Phillips has shared whether he wants to make it into a trilogy... And fans shouldn’t hold their breaths.
In an interview with Variety, the director said that there likely won’t be a third Joker film.
“It was fun to play in this sort of sandbox for two movies, but I think we’ve said what we wanted to say in this world,” said Phillips, seemingly confirming that the upcoming Joker: Folie à Deux will close off Arthur Fleck’s story.
Joker was a risky but profitably gambit, which grossed over $1 billion worldwide, becoming the first R-rated film to do so. It got rave reviews, won the Golden Lion in Venice, got 11 Oscar nominations, and bagged two for Best Actor and Best Original Score.
So there’s a lot riding on the unconventional sequel’s shoulders...
The title of Joker: Folie à Deux (spelled correctly) refers to the French term for shared psychosis or SDD (Shared Delusional Disorder), a rare syndrome in which two individuals share delusions or hallucinations. It sees Joaquin Phoenix return as Arthur Fleck, and this time, he’s joined by Lady Gaga as Harleen “Lee” Quinzel – a version of Harley Quinn, the Joker's romantic muse and psychotic sidekick. Call it a bad romance.
The film won’t be a straightforward psychological thriller like the first, and will instead boldly take on the form of a jukebox musical, with Phillips diving further into the madness of Fleck through music and dance.
Further plot details are being kept under wraps, but it seems that much of the sequel will take place within Arkham Asylum, where Fleck and his frayed mind waits to stand trial for the murders he committed in the first film.
Lady Gaga recently stated that the film featured “music, there’s dance, it’s a drama, it’s also a courtroom drama, it’s a comedy, it’s happy, it’s sad. It’s a testament to [Phillips] as a director, that he would rather be creative than just tell a traditional story of love.”
In the recent interview with Variety, Phillips added that although both central protagonists frequently break into song and sing classics like 'Get Happy', 'For Once in My Life', and 'That’s Life', the sequel isn’t a full-blown musical.
“Most of the music in the movie is really just dialogue,” Phillips said. “It’s just Arthur not having the words to say what he wants to say, so he sings them instead.”
Phillips added: “I just don’t want people to think that it’s like ‘In the Heights,’ where the lady in the bodega starts to sing and they take it out onto the street, and the police are dancing. No disrespect, because I loved ‘In the Heights.’”
The idea to greenlight a sequel to Joker was something of a no-brainer for Warner Bros., considering it became one of the most successful comic-book movies ever.
However, the open-ended finale of the first film – which was essentially Phillips plonking Batman’s arch nemesis in The King of Comedy and aping Martin Scorsese throughout - is somewhat ruined by a sequel, as it only works if it remains ambiguous. Did any of the events actually happen? Was it all in Fleck’s head? These questions seem answered now, which feels like a shame.
ADVERTISEMENTThere’s also a singular joy in watching a film that bucks the persistent Hollywood trend of franchising a property and being content with telling a self-contained story.
Still, this Clown Prince of Crime sequel seems like a singular vision and certainly a brave move, as a musical is the last thing anyone expected. And maybe it will lead Lady Gaga to finally get the Oscar she tried so hard to nab with House of Gucci and should have won for A Star Is Born…
As for those already bummed about Phillips confirming that he’s done making Joker movies, fret not. If Folie à Deux does the same billion-dollar numbers as the first film, you can bet Warner Bros. will push hard for a third. And Phillips didn’t deny that Lady Gaga’s character could take over the reins for a third chapter... But maybe that’s just wishful thinking.
Joker: Folie à Deux premieres at the Venice Film Festival (28 August – 7 September) and will be released in theatres on 4 October.
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