Viewers have finally seen the first trailer for the highly anticipated “Joker” sequel “Folie à Deux”. As things stand, the new, dark DC film will be released in German cinemas on October 3rd this year. In addition to Joker actor Joaquin Phoenix (49), who received an Oscar for his performance in the first part, this time superstar Lady Gaga (38) is taking part in the adult superhero film directed by director Todd Phillips (53). Below are five details about the upcoming “Joker 2”.
There is currently a bit of confusion about the extent to which the new “Joker” film will be a musical. For example, the US industry magazine “Variety” reported in March of this year, citing insider sources in Hollywood, that “Joker: Folie à Deux” will be a so-called jukebox musical in which “at least 15 interpretations of very well-known songs ” should occur.
As an example of such a song, Variety listed the song “That’s Entertainment” from the classic Hollywood musical “Curtain Raise!” at. In the trailer for “Joker 2,” however, you can hear a cover of the famous song “What The World Needs Is Love.”
However, at the US cinema trade fair CinemaCon in Las Vegas, where the “Joker 2” trailer was presented yesterday, April 9th (local time), director Todd Phillips said when asked whether the new film was a musical: “We’ve never really talked about it, but I like to say that it’s a film in which music is an essential element. For me, that’s not too different from the first film.”
The “Joker” maker went on to explain that Arthur Fleck, played by lead actor Phoenix, has always had “music in him”. Therefore, the sequel’s musical direction “doesn’t feel like such a big step. It’s different, but I think it’ll make sense when you see it,” Phillips said.
Lady Gaga takes on the role of the legendary Joker partner Harley Quinn from “Barbie” star Margot Robbie (33), who played the character in the previous DC films “Suicide Squad”, “Birds of Prey: The Emancipation of Harley Quinn” and “The Suicide Squad”.
In contrast to Robbie’s interpretation of the character and the origin in the DC Comics, Harley Quinn in “Joker 2” will apparently not be a psychiatrist who treats the main character of the superhero work in Arkham Asylum in order to later fall for him to become his accomplice.
Instead, the new “Joker” trailer shows that Lady Gaga’s Harley Quinn is also imprisoned in Arkham Asylum. In the trailer, the character suggests to the Joker that he should try to break out of the psychiatric institution together with the words “Let’s get out of here.”
Lady Gaga’s role predecessor, Margot Robbie, has given her successor her blessing. “That makes me so happy because I’ve said from the beginning that all I want is for Harley Quinn to be one of those characters – like Macbeth or Batman – that is always passed from one great actress to the next.” Robbie told MTV News, according to Entertainment Weekly.
The first “Joker” part was a gigantic financial success. Over $1 billion was raised at the global box office, which is particularly unusual for a film with an adult rating.
Given this success, everything about “Joker 2” is a lot bigger. The film’s budget has grown from around 60 million US dollars (the equivalent of around 55.2 million euros) to a rumored 150 million (around 138 million euros). Returnees and leading actor Joaquin Phoenix in particular can also look forward to a handsome salary. He is expected to earn 20 million US dollars (around 18.4 million euros) from the sequel. For Lady Gaga there is still 10 million dollars (around 9.2 million euros), as the industry magazine “Variety” reports.
With the new, announced DCU films led by James Gunn (57) such as “Superman”, the old and new “Joker” films do not share a common universe. Rather, “Joker 1 and 2” as well as “The Batman” and “The Batman – Part II” take place in separate worlds, separate universes. The name for this is “DC: Elseworlds”. Characters like the new Superman played by David Corenswet (30) will therefore not visit Joaquin Phoenix’ Arthur Fleck in Gotham City.
However, it would be conceivable that director Phillips would cast his own Batman and have him appear in “Joker 2”. Filmmaker Phillips said in 2020: “It’s a beautiful Gotham. I would like to see what Batman looks like in this Gotham. I’m not saying I will do that.”
A few days ago it was announced that the new “Joker” film would also be rated for adults. This was decided by the US Motion Picture Association.
According to the rating, “Joker 2” contains, among other things, “some drastic scenes of violence, swear words, some sexuality and a short nude scene,” as reported by the industry publication “Deadline,” among others. There is currently no assessment of the film from the German FSK.
