Joker: Folie a Deux Is "Daring," "Darker" and "Completely Different" From the First Film

Joker 2 is a jaw-dropper, according to Venice Film Festival Artistic Director Alberto Barbera.

By Cameron Bonomolo

Joker and Harley live for the applause, applause, applause. Five years after DC's Joker won the Golden Lion at the 2019 Venice International Film Festival, Warner Bros. is returning to the Lido di Venezia with Joker: Folie À Deux. The Todd Phillips-directed musical sequel — starring Oscar winners Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga as Arthur Fleck and Harleen Quinzel, whose shared madness manifests in fantastical musical numbers — will premiere in competition at the 81st Venice International Film Festival, which runs August 28th—September 7th.

"It's a continuation of the story but the film is completely different from the first film. If you're expecting the same in terms of violence or other things, you'll be surprised," the festival's artistic director, Alberto Barbera, told Deadline. "When I saw the film in L.A. at the beginning of February there were four or five of us in the screening room, including writer Scott Silver, and we were astonished, our mouths were open at the end of the screening. It is a darker film."

Set two years after comedian-turned-criminal Arthur Fleck (Phoenix) was institutionalized at Arkham Asylum, Joker: Folie À Deux sees the titular character facing the "trial of the century" prosecuted by Harvey Dent (Harry Lawtey). While struggling with his dual identity, Arthur not only stumbles upon true love, but also finds the music that's always been inside him when he meets Harleen Quinzel (Gaga).

"It's a dystopian musical, or a musical of sorts. I think it's one of the most daring, brave and creative films in recent American cinema," Barbera added. "And I think it really confirms Todd Phillips as one of the most creative directors working at the moment."

Barbera, a former critic who has served as Artistic Director of the La Biennale di Venezia's Cinema Department since 2012, also said he "would be surprised if not" when asked if the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences might respond to the film. The first Joker received 11 Oscar nominations, including Best Picture and Best Director, winning Best Original Score for composer Hildur Guðnadóttir and Best Actor for Phoenix in 2020.  

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The world premiere of Warner Bros.' other tentpole fall release, the Michael Keaton-fronted Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, will open the festival out of competition at the Sala Grande on Wednesday, August 28th. Keaton and co-stars Winona Ryder, Catherine O'Hara, Justin Theroux, Monica Bellucci, Jenna Ortega, and Willem Dafoe will walk the carpet for director Tim Burton's long-awaited sequel, which features a "surprising swing of creative imagination and driving hallucinatory rhythm," according to Barbera.

Joker: Folie À Deux — starring Joaquin Phoenix, Lady Gaga, Brendan Gleeson (The Banshees of Inisherin), Catherine Keener (Get Out), Zazie Beetz (Deadpool 2), and Harry Lawtey (The Pale Blue Eye) — opens only in theaters October 4th.

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