Todd Phillips Comments on Joker’s Character Arc & the Fact That He Will Never Become “Clown Prince of Crime: “We would never do that”

DCU is a long time away from being fully started but Elseworlds label is going full steam ahead with the upcoming ‘Joker: Folie à Deux.’ A sequel to the ‘Joker’ released in 2019 will see Joaquin Phoenix return to the role of Joker and Lady Gaga assuming the role of Harley Quinn.

After killing Murray Franklin on live TV, Arthur Fleck is imprisoned in Arkham State Hospital, where he falls in love with Harleen Quinzel. Together, they indulge in musical delusions, while Fleck’s followers begin a movement to free him, eventually leading to the rise of the Clown Prince of Crime’s criminal empire – or so the fans hope….As it turns out, that’s now what will happen at all if Todd Phillips, the movie director is to be believed.

The director recently promoted his upcoming movie with Empire, and pretty much answered in a straightforward way that Arthur Fleck will never become what fans expect him to become as his character arc is focused on altogether different things, his psyche:

We would never do that. Because Arthur clearly is not a criminal mastermind. He was never that.This unwilling, unwitting symbol now paying for the crimes of the first film, but at the same time finding the only thing he ever wanted, which was love. That’s always what he’s been about, even though he’s been pushed and pulled in all these directions. So we tried to just make the most pure version of that.

This purity will be further explored through a surprising stylistic twist where Fleck and Lady Gaga’s character, Lee, break into song. This idea stems from the first film’s concept that Fleck “has music in him.”

‘Folie à Deux’ is described as a musical drama set in and around Arkham Asylum, but specific plot details haven’t been confirmed officially. The cast includes Joaquin Phoenix, Lady Gaga, Zazie Beetz, Catherine Keener, and Brendan Gleeson. The screenplay was co-written by Todd Phillips and Scott Silver.

‘Joker: Folie à Deux’ is set to premiere in the United States on October 4, 2024.

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