Get ready for a whole lot of a singing from Joker and Harley Quinn.
It was revealed before that Todd Phillips’ Joker: Folie à Deux would be a musical, but now a ton of new details have been revealed on the much-anticipated sequel. Next to Joaquin Phoenix as Joker, the movie will also feature Lady Gaga as Harley Quinn, and it looks like she will really be able to flex her singing prowess.
According to a new report from Variety, quoting “Insiders privy to filming and early versions“ of the film, Joker 2 is a full-blown “jukebox musical” and is set to feature “at least 15 reinterpretations of ‘very well-known’ songs”.
Joker 2: Laughing In The Rain
What these songs are, and whether there will be any original work included, is mostly unclear. However, Variety reveals that one of the songs is “That’s Entertainment” from the 1953 musical “The Band Wagon” featuring Judy Garland. After taking strong influence from Martin Scorsese’s work for the first Joker film, it looks like Phillips and his team are digging even deeper into Hollywood influences for Folie à Deux - I fully expect a number from Singin' in the Rain will be featured here.
A jukebox musical is a type of musical theater or film in which the majority of the songs are well-known popular music songs, rather than original music written specifically for the production. These songs are usually hits by a particular band or artist, or selected based on a particular theme, and are integrated into the narrative of the story. Some popular examples include "Mamma Mia!", "Jersey Boys" or "Singin' In The Rain".
Oscar-winning composer Hildur Guðnadóttir is set to return for the sequel and will apparently “infuse her distinctive, haunting [music] cues into each number”, according to the report.
The first Joker film grossed over $1 billion worldwide and was nominated for 11 Oscars. The sequel is much-anticipated and it will be really exciting to see whether the radical pivot to a jukebox musical will work with audiences. Sure, films like Mamma Mia are very successful, but imagine Maryl Streep singing while committing heinous crimes… a bit of a different proposition from chilling on a beautiful Greek island, I must say.
Joker: Folie à Deux is set to release on October 21 and is rumored to premiere at the Venice Film Festival in September.