Joaquin Phoenix – one of the greatest actors of the 21st century took the role of the Clown Prince of Crime in the 2019 film titled Joker. This role earned him his long awaited Oscar. Though the film impressed many for me it was more of a Arthur Fleck movie rather than a Joker movie. However, it doesn’t matter as the film was hugely successful. It grossed over $1 billion dollars worldwide over a budget of only $70 million. That is gives you an approximate gross ROI of 667%. Till this date, Joker is the highest grossing R-rated movie ever beating 2018’s Deadpool 2 ($786 Million). Naturally, a sequel was being planned but nothing concrete was known as no one was sure whether Joaquin would return for a sequel. Thankfully it was soon confirmed by Todd Phillips himself that Phoenix would returning for Joker 2.
Along with that we also got to know that Lady Gaga would join the cast as Harley Quinn because the sequel would be musical and reportedly it would be told from Quinn’s POV. Brendan Gleeson and Catherine Keener joined the cast and Zazie Beetz is returning for the sequel. The sequel feels like its already on the wheels. The filming for the sequel is on the way but we still haven’t had any first looks despite Todd Phillips being so vocal and open about the film on social media. Fans have been rabid on this matter and finally we have an answer for this. Let’s see why have we not gotten Lady Gaga’ first look.
Joker 2: The Reason For Lady Gaga’s First Look Delay Has Been Revealed!
On 10th December 2022, Todd Phillips posted a picture of Joaquin Phoenix which served as the first look for Joaquin Phoenix’s first look as Arthur Fleck in Joker: Folie à Deux. The image had Phoenix been laid down getting his beard shaved by someone who looks like a staff member of Arkham Asylum, possibly Brendan Gleeson’s character. Phoenix has thrown out all the extra weight once again for the sequel. He looks unrecognizable in the photo. Phillips captioned the post with “Day 1. Our boy. #joker”
As Phillips shared the first look of Phoenix, people were expecting that we will soon get Lady Gaga’s first look as Harley Quinn and as we didn’t get it, fans were angry and disappointed. Fan page ‘ladygagaownet’ revealed their interaction with Joker: Folie à Deux director Todd Phillips in a recent post on Instagram. The post revealed why Lady Gaga’s first look hasn’t been out yet. The conversation looked something like this:
ladygaganownet:“Sneak peak at Gaga plis”
Phillips: “getting a lot of these messages in my DMs. And on here. Sorry to say that LG does not start with us until after the new year. So it’s gonna be a bit. xTP”
ladygaganownet: “we can’t wait!! Thank you.”
In conversation with The Hollywood Reporter, Joker cinematographer Lawrence Sher share her thoughts on the addition of Lady Gaga as Harley Quinn, “She’s going to be a really cool fit for this movie and will create a similar kind of magic that Joaquin brought by himself. The combination of the two will be exactly what we hope, which is exciting, and we’ll find magic every day on set. Hopefully, we’ll also have a bit of madness in there. We like when there is a little bit of chaos.”
The sequel’s storyline is supposed to surround the infamous Arkham Asylum. We got glimpses of the Arkham Asylum in the last film as well. In the end, Joaquin’s Arthur Fleck was seen being treated in Arkham Asylum for him mental illness. The last scene saw Fleck murdering the doctor who was treated him and being chased by guards in the Arkham Asylum. According to The Wrap, the sequel will feature a lot more of Gotham’s mental health facility and there is a possibility that Harley Quinn played Lady Gaga might him in the facility itself.
As I’d said before the title “Folie à Deux” means a type of mental illness shared between two close people. Where can Joaquin’s Arthur Fleck find someone who shares a similar mental illness as him? Well his best bet would the Arkham Asylum. Both characters can find comfort in each and other as they’d empathize.
The first Joker movie featured an incredible ensemble cast that included Robert De Niro, Frances Conroy, Shea Whigham, Bill Camp, and Brett Cullen as Thomas Wayne. Let me know your thoughts on these latest updates. Are you excited for Joker 2? What do you think a comic book musical movie be like?
Joker: Folie à Deux is slated to release on 4th October 2024.
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