One of the confusing things about Joker: Folie à Deux is the musical aspect behind the sequel, which fans undoubtedly shot down as soon as reports surfaced. Now, Joker 2 director Todd Phillips clears the air and reassures fans it is not the kind of musical they think it will be.
Joker 2 Director Debunks One Rumored Element About the Sequel
Set two years after the events of the first film, Folie à Deux follows Arthur Fleck (played by Joaquin Phoenix) who ends up meeting a fellow patient, Harleen 'Lee' Quinzel (played by Lady Gaga) in the same psych ward.
Harleen is described as having grown obsessed with his alter-ego, the Joker, leading Arthur to pursue her instead of abiding by the law of his death penalty.
While this sounds as morbid as the trailer appealed, will the story unfold through musicals, as previously teased?
Joker 2 director Todd Phillips explained that the musicality in the sequel is not like In the Heights where the cast burst out singing and dancing, "It was important to me that we never perform the songs as one typically does in a musical."
"Most of the music in the movie is just dialogue," Phillips added, "It's just Arthur not having the words to say what he wants to say, so he sings them instead."
As Lady Gaga put it, Folie à Deux hopes to explore "where the music would come from" for the characters. At most, they ensured that "neither Arthur nor Harleen are professional singers."
Still, the "musicality" in Joker 2 comes out more as a part of the film rather than the entire genre of it, as Gaga said, "Todd took a very big swing with this whole concept and with the script, giving the sequel to Joker this audacity and complexity."
"It's a testament to [Todd] as a director," Gaga continued, "That he would rather be creative than just tell a traditional story of love."
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Meanwhile, fans can look forward to Joker: Folie à Deux once it arrives in theaters this October 4.
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