Courtesy of Warner Bros.
New and fascinating details have been revealed about Joker : Folie à Deux, particularly about its soundtrack. Variety reported in fact that the long anticipated sequel will contain at least 15 famous cover songs, adapted in order to appeal to contemporary taste. The composer Hildur Guðnadóttir – first woman to win an Academy Award in the category thanks to the first Joker – is going to add a contemporary and psychologically threatening touch to some of these songs. One of them is the well-known “That’s Entertainment“, contained in one of the most beloved musicals in Hollywood history, The Band Wagon (1953).
What about the presence of original songs? Warner Bros hasn’t released any official news about it, but it seems there will be one or two original songs in the movie, most likely performed by Lady Gaga. The singer/actress is going to play the co-protagonista next to Joaquin Phoenix, returning in the role of Arthur Fleck/Joker.
Lady Gaga won the Oscar for the best song in 2018 for “Shallow“ in Bradley Cooper’s directorial debut A Star Is Born, for which she also received a nomination as best leading actress. Only four other artists could achieve the double nominees in the history of Academy Awards.
Joker: Folie à Deux has a production budget of about 200 millions dollars, more than three times bigger than the original movie (60 millions). In 2018 Joker earned more than 1 billion dollars all over the world, becoming one of the most successful cinecomics of all time. The movie directed by Todd Phillips won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival and received 11 Academy Award nominations including best movie and best director, winning as best leading actor and original score.
The cast of Joker: Folie à Deux includes the returning Zazie Beetz (Atlanta, Deadpool 2), joined by Brendan Gleeson (Gangs of New York, The Banshees of Inisherin), Catherine Keener (Capote, Get Out). The screenplay has been written by Todd Phillips and Scott Silver. The movie will arrive in theaters on October 4th 2024, while its world premiere will most likely happen at the next Venice Film Festival.