One of the most highly anticipated films of 2024 is Joker: Folie à Deux. The sequel to the billion-dollar film sees the return of Todd Phillips as the director and Joaquin Phoenix as the title character. The biggest addition to the series is Harley Quinn, which Lady Gaga is stepping in as the infamous villain this time around. Thus far, an official synopsis for the sequel has yet to be released. In fact, there hasn’t been much revealed about Joker: Folie à Deux except for a couple of on-set photos that looked pretty good.
Since there’s limited info about the upcoming DC film then we don’t have a strong read about it except that it’s been confirmed as a musical. This is a big departure from the original origin story about the “Clown Prince of Darkness”. This major shift in genres and the addition of an Oscar nominee should get many fans excited for something truly bold and original, but there’s a cause for concern that Joker: Folie à Deux is an unnecessary sequel that fails to live up to its processors.
Joker: Folie à Deux Being A Musical Could Backfire Big Time
The most interesting aspect of this sequel is the musical subgenre. I highly doubt that this will be similar in tone in terms of High School Musical or Hairspray, but musicals aren’t particularly a popular genre in the mainstream. However, the big concern is making this a musical can undermine the characters and the world of Gotham.
Despite the first film not being based on any comic books, Todd Phillips did an excellent job of capturing the spirit of the famed DC villain and perfectly crafted his world that fits into the Gotham we all know and love. On the flip side, Joker is not a singer. He may have had a silly number or two in the comics, but singing was not his profession in his first film. That’s likely where Lady Gaga’s version of Harley Quinn comes in as that’s probably her world.
However, the musical aspect can take audiences out of the film because it’s not particularly a fit for the character itself. Of course, I can’t speak too much about the musical because we have yet to even see a teaser for the upcoming sequel. However, turning this compelling crime drama into a break-out-song-and-dance feature can come across as awkward, gimmicky, and worse of all, betray all of the good work that Phillips did in the original film.
The Harley Quinn and Joker Pairing
Harley Quinn and Joker are one of the most infamous couples in the comic book world. Sadly, that hasn’t translated well to live-action. David Ayer‘s Suicide Squad missed a big opportunity to tell a compelling story of these two by simply giving audiences cliff notes on the most important aspects of the relationship. Pairing Lady Gaga and Joaquin Phoenix together is a fun choice as the former is a great actress who can knock out the role of Quinn.
The concern lies in the delicate balance of telling Quinn’s origin story properly. The problem with Suicide Squad is that it didn’t do the best job of capturing Joker as a manipulative abuser. The character has done some truly awful things to Harley; Joker has shot her, choked her, and even almost ran a plane into Harley Quinn!
If this pairing is truly going to work then Phillips has to highlight how much of a manipulative douchebag Joker is. Sure, he can deviate from the comics and make them a loving crime-fighting duo, but that would be similar to the Suicide Squad arc. The dynamic between Harley and Joker is quite fascinating, but Phillips has to dig into the toxic roots of their relationship for this story to have any real juice.
What About Batman?
Joker worked perfectly because it was the origin story of a mentally challenged man who had to deal with the drudgery of the cruel world he lived in. Now I do understand that Batman is not in this film, but can the sequel properly recapture the magic of the first film without the need for Batman? Given how the last film ended, it would be shocking if the caped crusader didn’t exist at this period.
It would be massively cool if Phoenix’s Joker and Robert Pattinson’s Batman collided as they are both Elseworld stories. However, assuming there’s still no Batman in this world, it would be quite weird if all of this Joker build-up never resulted in him butting heads against the dark knight. It’s still possible to make a great film as the focus is clearly on the development of Joker and Harley Quinn’s relationship. All the chaos that Fleck caused by the end of the first movie, does have you questioning, where’s Batman? Joker: Folie à Deux has all the tools to be the most original and groundbreaking comic book story to come out yet, but there are some concerns about the upcoming sequel.
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