A few months ago, rumors started circulating that Todd Phillips’ Joker sequel would be a musical, which intrigued and confused people all at the same time. But now that the film’s release is nearing and we’ve seen the trailer, it makes a little more sense. So, not only is Joker: Folie à Deux now expected to be a musical, but according to the filmmakers, it’s also a farewell.
Read more: ‘Joker: Folie à deux’: Venice director says he was ‘astonished’ by ‘dystopian musical’
In an interview with Variety, film director Todd Phillips spoke about the origins of Joker: Folie à Deux and what people can expect from his final DC movie. The idea for the musical apparently came from Joaquin Phoenix, who had a dream about his character Arthur Fleck singing and dancing on stage. When Phoenix shared the idea with Phillips, the two began to think about the possibility of a Broadway musical. But there were a lot of problems.
Read more: Joker: Folie à Deux Trailer: Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga star in the Joker & Harley Show
“When we started to think about it seriously, we realized it would take four years to build something like this,” Phillips said, “and was Joaquin really going to spend six months of his life doing that on stage every night? So we looked into doing a smaller production at the Carlyle, but then COVID hit.”
So what happened with all this is that “Joker: Folie à Deux” is a movie in which the protagonist sings and dances alongside Lady Gaga, who plays a version of Harley Quinn simply called Lee.
The film’s world premiere at the Venice Film Festival is just days away, followed by a few more months before it hits theaters around the world. Early projections suggest the film will be another big hit for Phillips. (Don’t forget, the first film was the highest-grossing R-rated movie of all time, until it was recently surpassed by Deadpool & Wolverine.)
But despite the anticipated success, we can’t expect any more installments in the Joker series from director Todd Phillips, as the filmmaker considers his time in that world to be over after Folie à Deux.
“It’s been fun to play in that sandbox for two movies, but I think we’ve said everything we wanted to say in this world,” Phillips said.
We’ll have to wait and see if this final Joker movie ends up being an acceptable ending for fans. Joker: Folie à deux hits theaters on October 4.