Posted in: Joker, Movies, Warner Bros | Tagged: joker 2, Joker: Folie à Deux

Joker: Folie À Deux Heads To Venice, It's "Daring, Brave, & Creative"

Joker: Folie À Deux is heading to the Venice Film Festival, and the festival chief has described it as "one of the most daring, brave, and creative films in recent American cinema."

The Venice Film Festival already has one major film from Warner Bros. premiering there, but now we have two. Yesterday, the next trailer for Joker: Folie À Deux was released with some production notes, which finally gave us some plot details. Everything is still a bit mysterious, though, and the trailers are doing an excellent job of making sure we are questioning every single frame on screen. We learned in the first film that this is a classic unreliable narrator situation (whether or not you think that reveal worked is up for debate, but it was a thing), and now we have to consider that when we're watching the sequels. Beetlejuice Beetlejuice will be premiering at Venice, but now we have confirmed that Joker: Folie À Deux will also be premiering there. Venice Film Festival chief Alberto Barbera spoke to Deadline about the film, and he had nothing but good things to say.

"It is," Barbera said in response to a comment he previously made about Joker: Folie À Deux surprising people. "It's a continuation of the story, but the film is completely different from the first film. If you're expecting the same in terms of violence or other things, you'll be surprised. When I saw the film in LA at the beginning of February there were four or five of us in the screening room, including writer Scott Silver, and we were astonished, our mouths were open at the end of the screening. It is a darker film."

One of the things that has been a talking point about Joker: Folie À Deux is its musical elements. Everyone has been very coy about the musical aspects of the film, and the new trailer is just as vague. It turns out that no one is willing to say much about the musical elements, as Barbera says, "It's a dystopian musical, or a musical of sorts." If that sounds new and interesting to you, Barbera would agree. He continued, "I think it's one of the most daring, brave, and creative films in recent American cinema. And I think it really confirms Todd Phillips as one of the most creative directors working at the moment."

With Joker: Folie À Deux and Beetlejuice Beetlejuice getting the film festival treatment, this is a reminder that "festival brain" is a thing. Festival brain is when you see a lot of movies at once, and your turnaround time on reviews is very fast, so there is little room for nuance. So expect reactions to these films and anything else to be either really good or really bad, with the nuance coming in later on down the line. So, if things sound bad coming out of Venice for a film you're looking forward to, don't immediately panic. There is a chance the movie is fine, just not great, and the festival brain can't see that yet. On the other hand, if the reviews are euphoric, it might not be the second coming either; just a damn good film no one has time to see the flaws of yet.

Joker: Folie À Deux: Summary, Cast List, Release Date

From acclaimed writer/director/producer Todd Phillips comes Joker: Folie À Deux, the much-anticipated follow-up to 2019's Academy Award-winning Joker, which earned more than $1 billion at the global box office and remains the highest-grossing R-rated film of all time. The new film stars Joaquin Phoenix once again in his Oscar-winning dual role as Arthur Fleck/Joker opposite Oscar-winner Lady Gaga (A Star Is Born).

Joker: Folie À Deux finds Arthur Fleck institutionalized at Arkham, awaiting trial for his crimes as Joker. While struggling with his dual identity, Arthur not only stumbles upon true love but also finds the music that's always been inside him.

The film also stars Oscar nominees Brendan Gleeson (The Banshees of Inisherin) and Catherine Keener (Get Out, Capote), alongside Zazie Beetz, reprising her role from Joker. Phillips, who was nominated for Oscars for directing, writing, and producing Joker, directed Joker: Folie À Deux from a screenplay by fellow Oscar nominee Scott Silver & Phillips, based on characters from DC. The film was produced by Phillips, Oscar nominee Emma Tillinger Koskoff and Joseph Garner. Lady Gaga served as music consultant. The film's executive producers are Michael E. Uslan, Georgia Kacandes, Silver, Mark Friedberg, and Jason Ruder.

Warner Bros. Pictures Presents A Joint Effort Production, A Film by Todd Phillips, Joker: Folie À Deux. The film will be released worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures, and will be only in theaters nationwide on October 4, 2024, and beginning internationally on 2 October, 2024

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