Joker: Folie a Deux Featurette Details Film’s Musical Element

Joker: Folie á Deux had fans sit up and take notice the moment they heard it was going into production; few expected the first film to get a sequel, and when it was reported that the next film would be a musical, curiosity skyrocketed. Since then, however, there’s been some muddled messaging about just how much of a musical Joker 2 will be (or not). Now, Warner Bros. has released a new featurette that addresses the question of how the musical numbers fit into the story of Folie á Deux. Check it out, below.  

In the new Joker: Folie á Deux featurette, director Todd Phillips and stars Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga all discuss the process behind and purpose of the music in Joker 2. Phillips references the now-infamous musical/dance numbers in the first film, like Arthur Fleck’s (Phoenix) ballet-style dance after his first kill, and the ‘Joker Steps’ dance number set to Gary Glitter’s “Rock and Roll Part 2”. He says that for the sequel they wanted to highlight songs that Arthur knew from his childhood – songs his troubled mother Penny Fleck would’ve played for him. It’s an interesting insight into where Arthur’s psyche is headed – namely further and further away from reality and into literal echoes of the only (twisted) love he knows, from his not-quite-mother. 

Phoenix and Gaga tease how there’s “messy and chaotic” music inside of Arthur, with Phoenix humorously teasing the gritty versions of famous musical numbers, as performed by the likes of Arthur and Harleen “Lee” Quinzel/Harley Quinn (Gaga). 

In short, it seems that Joker: Folie á Deux will be a true sequel in the sense that it will revisit a tropes of the original film, only in bigger fashion. Going back to voiceover from the original Joker 2 teaser, it also seems like the framework of the film will explore music’s theraputic effect as a mood altering force, and the places it can take the mind. 

There’s no denying that Phillips and co. are taking a big swing with Joker: Folie á Deux. However, if the film can seamlessly segue between Arthur and Lee’s grim reality, and the fantasy world they create through music, it will be a cinematic experience that no other comic book movie has offered. 

Joker: Folie á Deux Synopsis

Two years after the events of Joker (2019), Arthur Fleck, now a patient at Arkham State Hospital, falls in love with music therapist Lee. As the duo experiences musical madness through their shared delusions, Arthur’s followers start a movement to liberate him.

Joker: Folie á Deux is now premiering at the Venice Film Festival. It has a theatrical release date of October 4th.