Tantalising details emerge regarding the sequel to one of 2019’s most talked-about films: Joker.
Say what you will about 2019’s Joker (and plenty of people did), but the film was a box-office juggernaut banking over $1bn from a production budget of around $70m. Those kinds of numbers mean a sequel is always a distinct possibility and director Todd Philips has always seemed open to the idea, despite the fact that the first film tells a completely self-contained story.
Philips revealed a few days ago that the sequel would indeed be happening, announcing the title by posting a picture of the script, which presumably means the film is written.
The title, Joker: Folie à Deux got lots of people wondering if the reference to ‘deux’ meant that Joaquin Phoeni’s Arthur Fleck would be uniting onscreen with his Harley Quinn, his love interest from the comics and previous films. That indeed does seem to be the plan for sequel. What’s more, none other than Lady Gaga is in early talks to play the beloved antagonist. Whilst that news in itself will likely go over well, it is also being claimed by The Hollywood Reporter that the film will be a musical.
Given how bleak and cynical some found the first film, we’re more than a little interested to see how Todd Philips plans to match the tone of Joker with a musical-based sequel, or if he even plans to at all. Phoenix was magnetic as Arthur Fleck in the first film and Gaga has enjoyed great success in her film career so far, putting in an acclaimed turn in A Star Is Born whilst also being a fun watch in her vampy femme fatale role in Ridley Scott’s House Of Gucci.
If nothing else, should the musical rumours prove to be true, it’s fascinating to see the project’s collaborators take such a risk. The first film in its own way veered away from expected (and previous) depictions of the character and was acclaimed by many for that bold creative decision. With the sequel, it looks like Philips and his collaborators are set to make a bold creative choice yet again. We’ll let you know more as we hear it.
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