Joaquin Phoenix has been tempted by Disney many times to join the Marvel Cinematic Universe. He was offered to replace Edward Norton as the Hulk and later play Doctor Strange’a. He always refused because he didn’t want to be associated with a film series that would require him to appear regularly over several or a dozen films. The actor was interested in a more modest film, focused on the evolution of the character. Among the potential heroes and antagonists he could play, he pointed to the Joker, Batman’s nemesis.
At the same time, Todd Phillips, who broke the bank with the trilogy “The Hangover”, he regularly received offers to direct adaptations of superhero comics. He refused because he was not interested in subsequent blockbusters filled with special effects. He dreamed of a more down-to-earth work. He quickly concluded that the Joker could be the hero of such a story. Although the character had been portrayed by various artists over the years, and Heath Ledger won a posthumous Oscar for the role, Phillips believed that there was still a lot to be made of the Batman antagonist. He proposed to Warner Bros. creating an adaptation of DC comics that would not be part of the cinematic universe. They would have a smaller budget and would be aimed at an adult audience.
When Phillips shared his idea with Warner Bros., another version of the Joker had just debuted. IN “Suicide Squad” Jared Leto played the villain. His interpretation of the character was criticized by fans and reviewers. The actor even received a nomination for the Golden Raspberry Award. Despite this, Leto was eager to return in the role. He was reportedly furious when he learned about plans for a solo film about the criminal without his participation. According to unconfirmed information, he even tried to block production.
The huge financial success of “Wonder Woman” allowed for investment in “Joker” $60 million. Plans for the film were announced in 2017. Phillips will be behind the camera and will also write the script with Scott Silver. In turn, Martin Scorsese became one of the producers. Although the creator of “Goodfellas” wasn’t a fan of comic book adaptations, which he said many times in the future, the film needed someone from New York on board. The city was supposed to be the prototype of the film Gotham City. All that remained was to find the actor who would play the title role. Phillips revealed in one of the interviews that he wrote the script with Phoneix in mind. This one was waiting for just such a project.
When working on the script, Phillips and Silver did not want to adapt any specific story from the almost eighty-year history of the comic book Joker. “We took literally nothing from the comic book, and that’s probably going to piss off a few people,” Phillips admitted. “We wrote our own version of the Joker’s origin story. (…) It’s not even a Joker movie, it’s more about becoming the Joker.” In their version, the villain would be Arthur Fleck – a comedian without success or talent, living in Gotham City – looking like New York in the 1980s.
Phoenix immediately began preparing for the role. He lost over 23 kilograms. With the persistence of a maniac, he trained demonic-morbid laughter, which also underwent a kind of “casting”. “The first thing was losing weight. I think that was when I started playing this character. As it turns out, such weight loss affects your psyche. You start to go crazy when you lose weight so quickly in such a time” – he revealed the background of preparing for the role .
He added that the Joker is a part of Fleck that is trying to emerge, the cry of which is the aforementioned laughter. “I thought it was a really interesting way of looking at the laugh. But honestly, I didn’t think I could do it. I practiced on my own and then asked Todd to come in to audition for my laugh because I felt I had to do it on place and in front of someone else. It took me a long time,” admitted Phoenix. “I have watched videos of people suffering from pathological laughter, a neurological disorder that causes people to laugh uncontrollably.”
The cinema premiere of “Joker” is scheduled for October 2019. The film was shown a month earlier during the Venice festival as part of the main competition. After the first show, the audience gave him an eight-minute ovation. Despite this, the film was not a favorite in the race for the Golden Lion. His win was one of the biggest surprises in the history of the festival.
Artistic success was quickly followed by box office success. “Joker” turned out to be the sixth most popular film of 2019. It grossed over a billion dollars worldwide. He also turned out to be one of the favorites during the Oscar race. He received as many as 11 nominations for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. He won in two categories – best leading actor (Phoenix) and music.
Although Phillips stated that he was not interested in creating a series, the enormous success of “Joker” forced him to consider making a sequel. Information about the sequel appeared already in 2019. They were officially confirmed only in 2022. Phillips and Phoenix were again involved in the project. Surprisingly, the film would include elements of a musical. The production received a title “Joker: Folie à Deux”.
The film’s budget was $200 million – three times as much as the first part. The plot will focus on the relationship between Arthur Fleck (Phoenix) and Dr. Harleen Quinzel (Lady Gaga). The psychologist, under the influence of the criminal, will lose herself in madness and join him as Harley Quinn. The film is not related to other DC comic book adaptations.
Filming ended in April 2023. The cinema premiere is scheduled for October 4, 2024. It is possible that the film will debut earlier during one of the prestigious festivals, e.g. in Venice or Toronto.