Joker Replace As Gotham’s Clown Prince Of Crime In Folie À Deux
Throughout the years, various versions of the Joker have been introduced.
Several actors portrayed different types of villains in superhero movies, such as Jack Nicholson as a mobster in Batman, Heath Ledger as a terrorist in The Dark Knight, and Jared Leto as a gang leader in Suicide Squad.
However, Joker presented us with a completely new idea of who the main adversary of Batman could be – a isolated, marginalized comedian who is unsuccessful, and whose internal struggles lead to violent actions that reveal the underlying darkness in Gotham City.
In the movie by Todd Phillips, Arthur Fleck was not portrayed as a villain or a cunning mastermind, but rather as a capricious and unpredictable presence navigating the world in his own distinct manner.
In Joker: Folie À Deux, the highly awaited follow-up story takes Fleck to Arkham, where he will form a music-based bond with Lady Gaga’s Harley ‘Lee’ Quinzel, diving deeper into Arthur Fleck’s mind.
However, like the previous movie, it will not show the Joker taking on the role of Gotham’s Clown Prince Of Crime. Phillips tells Empire in their exclusive Joker: Folie À Deux cover story that they would never engage in such actions.
Arthur is obviously not a criminal mastermind. He was never like that. Although Fleck has no intention of becoming a criminal leader in Arkham, he is being closely monitored by the world.
“Arthur has been transformed into this icon for individuals,” Phillips explains. This symbol, who did not voluntarily choose to represent something, is now facing consequences for the actions of the initial movie, while also discovering the one thing he always desired – love.
That has always been his focus, despite being influenced by various forces. Therefore, we attempted to create the purest form of that.
The purity of character exploration aligns perfectly with the most surprising stylistic change in Folie À Deux – the fact that Fleck (and Gaga’s Lee) will start singing.
It originates from the idea in the initial movie that, in Phillips’ opinion, Fleck possesses “music within him”.
Watch Arthur perform showtunes as if he were Phoenix singing.
The actor tells Empire it was crucial to safeguard that with improper wording and occasional mistakes in performance. Arthur was raised listening to his mother play those songs on the radio.
He is not a vocalist, and he should not try to emulate a professional singer. He needs to sing as if he is in the shower and suddenly starts singing out loud.
He was, nonetheless, acting alongside the professional singer, Lady Gaga. He jokes that he recalls her spitting up coffee the first time he sang, which made him feel good, excited, and confident.
They discovered a harmonious creativity when working together. Phoenix says Gaga always encouraged him to follow his instincts, saying “Go with what you feel, it’s fine.”
“For someone who isn’t accustomed to performing in that manner, it might feel uneasy but also thrilling.” Get ready for an incredible cinematic pairing.
In other news see also: The Corsair Code, written by Jonathan Tropper of The Adam Project, will star Chris Hemsworth