Joker: Folie à Deux Will Begin in an Unexpected Way

A caller nonfiction successful Variety discussing manager Todd Phillips‘ upcoming musical/character study/courtoom drama/comic-book sequel Joker: Folie à Deux, includes a fewer heretofore chartless teases—including what transpires successful the film’s opening moments.

As the outlet reveals, the sequel begins with “a Looney Tunes-inspired” animated sequence, guest-directed by The Triplets of Belleville‘s Sylvain Chomet. Following, the communicative goes “hurtling done situation riots, courtroom faceoffs and a variety-show series that finds [Joaquin] Phoenix and [Lady] Gaga portraying a homicidal Sonny and Cher” arsenic the Joker and Harley Quinn. According to Phillips, “The extremity of this movie is to marque it consciousness similar it was made by brainsick people. The inmates are moving the asylum.”

The portion additionally confirms Folie à Deux is acceptable “two years aft the archetypal film,” and follows Arthur Fleck “facing the decease penalty” successful a psych ward aft his on-the-air execution of speech amusement host, Murray Franklin. It’s determination helium meets a chap patient, Harleen “Lee” Quinzel (Gaga), “who is obsessed with him—or, rather, his change ego, Joker. Arthur ditches his medicine and prances into a phantasy satellite that often plays similar the MGM musicals of yesteryear connected acid.”

The outlet besides reveals 3 of the songs the off-their-meds duo volition execute see “Get Happy,” “For Once successful My Life” and “That’s Life,” noting the Joker is “drawn to romanticist ballads,” portion Harley “prefers euphony astir power.” Phillips is speedy to enactment the movie won’t halt successful its tracks to execute acquainted numbers, though, since “most of the euphony successful the movie is truly conscionable dialogue. It’s conscionable Arthur not having the words to accidental what helium wants to say, truthful helium sings them instead.”

Variety’s portion continues to picture Lady Gaga’s all-new, all-different show arsenic Harley Quinn. “The precocious voice, that accent, the gum-chewing and each that benignant of sassy worldly that’s successful the comics, we stripped that away,” according to Phillips. “We wanted her to acceptable into this satellite of Gotham that we created from the archetypal movie.”

Gaga told the trade, “Todd took a precise large plaything with this full conception and with the script, giving the sequel to Joker this audacity and complexity. There’s music, there’s dance, it’s a drama, it’s besides a courtroom drama, it’s a comedy, it’s happy, it’s sad. It’s a testament to [Todd] arsenic a director, that helium would alternatively beryllium originative than conscionable archer a accepted communicative of love.”

Despite perchance kicking disconnected a caller Joker and Harley multi-media franchise, Phillips concludes the interrogation by stating helium (currently) has nary plans for a follow-up to Folie à Deux: “It was amusive to play successful this benignant of sandbox for 2 movies, but I deliberation we’ve said what we wanted to accidental successful this world.”

However, if 2019’s The Joker made over a cardinal dollars astatine the container bureau and its sequel is expected to execute arsenic well, we person the cleanable opus successful mind for a 3rd entry—just successful lawsuit helium changes his mind. 

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