Todd Phillips and Joaquin Phoenix went through several plot ideas for a sequel before landing on a musical for Joker: Folie à Deux.
In a recent interview with Empire, Phillips and Phoenix discussed the thoughts they had on where a sequel to Joker could potentially end up as far back as shooting the original movie. "Joaquin and I talked about another one the whole time while we were making the first movie, just because we love the character," said Phillips. "We were obsessed with Arthur. We would almost joke about it: ‘Oh, we should take Arthur and we should do this.'"
Phoenix went on to add, "I had a curiosity about going further with the character. It felt like you could put him into almost any situation, and I would be interested to see how he would navigate it. I mocked up all of these posters of films that have already been made, like Rosemary’s Baby and Godfather, and I put Joker in them and I gave them to Todd."
Phoenix did admit there was some silliness as well. "There was a running joke of, ‘What about Joker in space?’" But yeah, I was fascinated by where he would end up," said Phoenix.
Joker hit theaters in 2019 and quickly became the highest-grossing R-rated movie of all time--a seat it still holds more than 3 years later--by a significant margin. The Clown Prince of Crime raked in $1.07 billion at the worldwide box office, followed by Deadpool 2 and Deadpool at $786 and $782 million respectively. Phillips' unique take on the character was also nominated for 11 Academy Awards, winning two of those. Joaquin Phoenix won Best Actor, while Hildur Guðnadóttir took him a golden statue for Original Music Score.
Phoenix returns to once again star in the sequel, and Todd Phillips has returned to both write and direct. Alongside Lady Gaga's Harley Quinn, there are currently unconfirmed reports of Zazie Beetz, Catherine Keener, Harry Lawtey, and Jacob Lofland joining the cast as well.
The film's title already feels like a solid fit for the characters. The term 'folie à deux,' or 'folly of two' is a French term that refers to a condition of shared psychosis or shared delusional disorder. Applying real-world medical terms to fictional characters can be rocky, but if ever there was a term to describe Joker and Harley Quinn, this sure seems like it.
Joker: Folie à Deux will hit theaters on Oct. 4, 2024.
