Spoiler Warning: Spoilers Ahead for Joker: Folie à DeuxThe release of Todd Phillips’ Joker took the world by storm. Starring Joaquin Phoenix in a captivating, Academy Award-winning performance as the mentally troubled Arthur Fleck, the film was a dark and controversial take on the origins of one of pop culture’s most notorious villains and started a conversation about mental health. Breaking the mold of the typical comic book movie, Phillips opted for a character study rather than approach the film as the standard superhero film. With Phoenix’s masterful portrayal and Phillips’ directorial vision, the film earned over $1 billion worldwide and received 11 Academy Award nominations, with Phoenix winning Best Actor and the film winning Best Original Score.
Fans were ecstatic when a sequel to the critically acclaimed film was underway. Expectations were high, and everyone wondered if Phillips could achieve the same level of success with this second film. Unfortunately, this wasn’t the case, and Phillips managed to undermine his original work in the first film. With the release of Joker: Folie à Deux, Phillips took a wrong turn and made creative choices that disconnected fans from the first film, costing him dearly.
Joker: Folie à Deux is the sequel to Todd Phillips’ critically acclaimed comic book thriller Joker. Reprising his Academy Award-winning performance as the failed comedian Arthur Fleck, Joaquin Phoenix revisits the iconic DC character alongside Lady Gaga, who makes her debut as Joker’s lover Harley Quinn in this standalone continuity of the DC Universe.
Release Date October 4, 2024
Studio(s) Warner Bros. Pictures
The Joker Didn’t Need a Sequel
The 2019 film worked because it was a self-sufficient narrative. The artistic direction taken by Phillips made the original film feel singular, and it was strong enough to stand on its own without becoming a universe-spanning saga. By the end of the film, Arthur Fleck had fully transformed into the Joker, giving the character his origin story. Phillips’ vision for this film was complete.
The stand-alone quality of Joker resonated with its audience. For fans who were meeting the Joker for the first time, this film wasn’t tied to the DC universe, and for DC fans, this was another opportunity to see the Clown Prince of Crime in all his chaotic glory. The film’s realism made it distinct from other superhero films and the formulas used to create those films. Phillips set himself up for failure by overlooking what made his original work stand out: its singularity.
The Joke That Killed the Joker Sequel
Was anyone laughing at the end? Prepare for spoilers. Arthur Fleck reaches a point in the film where he renounces the persona of the Joker and shows remorse for his actions in the previous movie. His rejection of the Joker causes his followers and Lee (Lady Gaga) to turn their backs on him. After the trial, as the film comes to an end, audiences see an inmate tell Fleck a joke with the same punchline he told Murray in the first film. Fleck is stabbed multiple times, and as he’s bleeding to death, laughter is heard in the background, and the inmate, who’s out of focus, carves a smile into his face with the same blade. With Fleck’s death, the Joker is born.
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Whether Phillips intended the message to be that society is the Joker or not, the ending diminished everything established in the original film. Many fans felt that Phillips made this creative choice merely for shock value and failed to commit the film to anything. It seemed like Phillips didn’t know where to take this film after the success of the first one and its stand-alone value.
Joker 2 Is a Box Office Disappointment
Despite critics praising Phoenix and Gaga for their performances, the film grossed $40 million at the box office. The film’s box office performance pales in comparison to its predecessor, which earned $1 billion. It was reported that the film cost almost twice as much as the first one to produce, with Phillips saying it was less than $200 million but others saying it was $190 million. The convoluted story and execution cost the film and Phillips dearly.
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Joker 2 paid the price for not building on Fleck’s story after his transformation into the Joker. Phillips attempted to push Fleck’s character and the narrative in a direction that didn’t fit the tone established in the first film. This resulted in fans of the original movie, who were expecting a musical blended with haunting realism to build the narrative, being confused by the film’s inconsistencies. Joker: Folie à Deux is currently playing in theaters.
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