Pretty much out of nowhere we got an announcement of Joker 2 last week, and it included the
title and hinted at what this film would actually be.
And following this, we've now got some more news surrounding the genre and a casting
that is close to being confirmed.
I was on holiday for the last couple of weeks and unable to do a video on this news when
it broke, but now that I'm back, I'm going to be covering
everything that was revealed and giving my thoughts towards whether I'm interested in
this project or not.
But before I get into it, if you want to keep up to date on any of my future
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But without further a do, lets dive into the all the recent Joker 2 news.
So for some time, Todd Phillips has been writing a script for Joker 2 with returning co-writer
Scott Silver and it seems that now he has finally shown it to Warner Bros.
Last week the director teased the title of the sequel on
his Instagram page and according to the reveal, the second Joker film will be titled, Joker:
Folie à Deux.
Folie à deux is of course a term used to describe two people in close association
who share a mental illness or some kind of delusion.
Therefore, the title seemed to indicate that a second character is likely to play a
very important role in the forthcoming film.
And the idea of shared madness that this sequel looks to be pushing, may have been better
communicated by the news that just came out yesterday.
That news revealed that Lady Gaga is in talks to star in Todd Phillips’ Joker sequel,
with her being tapped to play Harley Quinn, and that this second instalment is going to
in fact be a musical.
The Hollywood Reporter broke the story, stating that the actress would play a new take on
Quinn, starring opposite Joaquin Phoenix's Joker.
While Phoenix hasn't officially signed on to the project, the photo of him posted
last week, reading the sequel script, all but confirms his current involvement and shows
that after reading it, he's interested in going
forward with this idea.
Not to mention that he's the kind of actor to only sign on to projects if he's 100% interested
in the script and role.
But coming back to Gaga as Harley Quinn, let's not forget that alongside the different
interpretation of the Joker that we got in the original film, Gaga's version of Quinn
will be a lot different than Margot Robbie's incarnation of the character, as this Joker
universe has clearly established itself outside of the DCEU.
We currently know nothing of how they will approach her in this musical sequel,
but traditionally, Joker is known for his abusive relationship with her, a psychiatrist
at Arkham Asylum who originally falls in love with him and becomes his partner in crime.
It is unclear whether Phillips will be using other
DC characters or how he will continue from the first project, but I think he will go
his own route, like he did with characters in the
highly successful original.
There's no other details surrounding how the musical aspect will be applied, but it's understandable
that Gaga, who is both a talented actress and musician,
is the favoured choice they seem to be taking with this particular role.
There's no doubt that like Phoenix, she will bring a unique take on this character in a
very different kind of film.
Director Todd Phillips was also a producer on A Star is Born, a musical starring Gaga
that got her an Academy Award nomination.
And some of the most famous momements from the
first Joker included aspects of a musical, whether you're talking about the dancing on
the stairs scene, the bathroom scene, or the ending moments of chaos to Hildur's score.
But of course, naturally, the internet has a lot
of mixed thoughts about everything that was revealed.
To summarise, there's a lot of people arguing over whether we need a Joker sequel or whether
they like the sound of this idea or not.
But what's my opinion on all of this Joker 2 news.
Well, to start with, while like a lot of people I agree that a Joker 2 doesn't nor should
be a focus after the events of the original and what that film was, I think there are
a lot of other things to keep in mind too.
When Warner Bros made the first Joker, it was recieved with similar backlash and it
wasn't certain that this was going to be a good as it turned out to
be.
A dark and moody character study, inspired by Taxi Driver and the King of Comedy, showcassing
a descent into madness set in a late 1970s decaying Gotham city.
With a budget of only $60 million there was worry that the audience
might not appreciate this kind of different film amongst the wave of your big budget traditional
comic book fair.
But by the time it was released in October of 2019, Joker had a wave
of success at early film festivals, and it led to a movie that had a record-breaking
opening weekend and a theatrical run as the 4th
highest-grossing R-rated movie of all time.
It had one of the biggest budget to profit margins in years and later earned 11 Oscar
nominations including best picture, and winning best
actor for Joaquin Phoenix and best score for Hildur Gudnadottir.
It was success that not much saw coming until that first trailer dropped and started extreme
intrigue in what they were cooking up.
And now here we are in 2022, with viewers sharring a similar frustration towards the
sound of something before they see anything from the film.
Again, Joker didn't need a sequel, but I think that no-one expected the
success that the original film brought and the kind of film we did get.
With Joaquin, a top tier actor that only signs on to projects after
reading the screenplays, and this screenplay being a launch in a different direction, I
think we need to wait to see more before we completely right it off.
I personally like that they are going deep into another genre within this
world and the story of Arthur Fleck and that it's not just a traditional continuation of
what we saw.
Some of the best sequels know how to approach each film as it's own thing if we
apply examples like The Dark Knight trilogy for instance.
We had a superhero origin, a crime thriller and an war drama in that trilogy, so
what's to say we don't get a trilogy of different genre films featuring Joaquin Phoenix as the
Joker.
A character study and now a musical starring a unique take on Harley Quinn by a
performer who has proven she can act.
I don't know, but that just sounds exciting to me and it's weird considering that like
a lot people I didn't think there needed to be a sequel.
I guess we'll have to see, but I do find it
silly that some are completely righting off this idea before they even get a good idea
of the story or see a single frame from the film.
The filmmaker is excited, the cast want to get
involved and Warner Bros are also clearly excited about what is happening behind the
scenes.
So let's wait and see whether this is really a good
idea or not once we get more details on the film.
I would also say that while a lot of people are worried about this being a musical, that
musicals can be darker, and the Joker's take on that can be really interesting.
Look at how again, some of the moments in the first film were framed as a poetic musical
in the head of Arthur Fleck.
And imagine a film that goes deeper into that framework as a musical film
in the sequel.
I think it poses a really interesting take on his character and even the relation to
Harley Quinn in that matter.
But yes, time will soon tell whether this is really
a good idea or a bad one.
But that was my video discussing all the news surrounding Joker 2.
I honestly think that Joker Folie A Deux can be an intriguing new genre film in this separated
DC world, and like I was saying, we really have to wait to see if that
idea can be translated well to screen.
But the current news, casting and setup does excite me and again, it's clearly excited
the people involved if they are coming back to do another
Joker film.
I will be sharing my extended thoughts on this next week in another video I'm currently
planning, but I am interested to hear what you guys think towards all the announcements,
so let me know down below in the comments section.
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