Joaquin Phoenix wanted a “Joker” sequel bad — he photoshopped the character into classic movie posters in order to persuade and inspire Todd Phillips to create the follow-up.
Speaking on the “Talk Easy with Sam Fragoso” podcast, Phoenix said he started working on the edits while wrapping up the first film, but then realized he actually did want a sequel.
“I mocked up like 10 different posters of famous movies putting Joker in all of them,” he said. “‘Rosemary’s Baby,’ ‘Yentl,’ ‘One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest,’ ‘The Godfather,’ like every classic film. I worked with this amazing on-set photographer Nico and he took photos of me and then photoshopped them into these posters. They’re like pretty seamless, they look amazing.”
Phoenix continued, “I gave them to Todd and the joke was ‘put Joker in space,’ ‘put Joker on ice skates.’ But the ‘Yentl’ poster, like you see that and you’re like, ‘Yeah, that should be made.’ So I was hoping that that would inspire some ideas in Todd.”
The actor – who won an Oscar for playing the character in the first film – realized about halfway through the original that he might want to keep the story going with a sequel.
“I think maybe it started off as a joke, like this character, imagine where you could put him and what could happen,” Phoenix explained. “Then I became more serious about it, and long before we finished shooting, I’d been talking about it quite seriously. I didn’t really want it to end.”
Phoenix got his wish and “Joker: Folie à Deux” is here at last. Although the film isn’t expected to do nearly the box office number of the first film, there’s still a chance it’s deemed a success. “Joker” was the first R-rated film to gross $1 billion at the global box office and enjoyed an opening weekend to the tune of $96 million back in 2019. The sequel is projected to open around $50 million.
As for reviews of the sequel, they’ve been decidedly middle of the road. People either like the musical direction, or they’re turned off by it. TheWrap reviewer William Bibbiani enjoyed the sequel’s bravery.
“What’s most impressive about ‘Joker: Folie à Deux’ is the way Phillips willingly undercuts his own billion-dollar blockbuster,” Bibbiani wrote. “He’s looking inward. Arthur is looking inward. Hopefully the audience will too, and question why they care so much about Arthur Fleck in the first place. Do we really love Arthur or do we just love how his story, itself a glorified TV melodrama about a sad person committing sad crimes for the sake of a sad rubbernecking audience, makes us feel about ourselves?”
“Joker: Folie à Deux” releases in theaters Friday.
