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Todd Phillips said he and Joaquin Phoenix wanted to make Joker: Folie à Deux because they did not want to leave Arthur Fleck behind. They loved the character, felt sad when the first film ended, and wanted to spend more time exploring him. The sequel’s musical form grew from that same interest in Arthur’s inner life.
Why did Todd Phillips make Joker 2?
In a September 23, 2024 interview with Terry Gross on Fresh Air, Phillips described a rare feeling at the end of the first Joker: he and Phoenix did not want the film to be over. “But on the first ‘Joker,’ Joaquin and I didn’t want it to end,” he said.
![Joker: Folie à Deux [Blu-ray] [2024] [Region Free]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41ZuTn1JuJL._SL160_.jpg)
Phillips said the motivation went beyond enjoying their work together. They loved Arthur Fleck and wanted to keep exploring him. Recalling the first film’s final day, he said he and Phoenix were sad while the crew celebrated the wrap. He summed up the impulse this way: “So all this stuff, the Broadway thing, the Cafe Carlyle and ultimately the sequel to this movie was really about Joaquin and I just wanting to explore more and spend more time with Arthur.” Read the Fresh Air interview.
How the Broadway and cabaret ideas led to a film sequel
Before settling on another movie, Phillips and Phoenix discussed other ways to return to Arthur, including a Broadway musical and a smaller cabaret-style show at Cafe Carlyle. Those ideas were early possibilities, not the final project: the desire to spend more time with Arthur ultimately became Joker: Folie à Deux.
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Phillips also described the audience’s response to Arthur as part of the path toward making a sequel a serious possibility. In a Venice Film Festival director’s statement reproduced by the Motion Picture Association, he said, “Joaquin and I had discussed a sequel, but never seriously — until we witnessed the reaction to Arthur’s story.” That response helped open the door; Phillips’s account of the personal motivation remained their attachment to the character. The Motion Picture Association reproduces Phillips’s statement.
Why make the sequel a musical?
For Phillips, the songs offered a way to explore what was happening inside Arthur rather than simply changing the genre for its own sake. He connected the musical approach to the idea that music was already within the character, expressing emotions he could not easily contain or articulate.
Phillips and co-writer Scott Silver framed their creative question around identity and that inner music: “So, Scott Silver and I wrote a script that delved further into the idea of identity. Who is Arthur Fleck? And where does the music inside him come from?” The Motion Picture Association describes the film as a jukebox musical and includes Phillips’s remarks on the direction. Read the MPA article.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Two connected reasons for returning to Arthur
- The personal impulse: Phillips and Phoenix loved Arthur and were sad to leave him at the end of the first film, so they wanted to explore him further.
- The creative approach: A musical sequel gave Phillips and Silver a form for examining Arthur’s identity and the music Phillips felt was already inside him.
Landmark Cinemas’ report on Phillips’s comments to Entertainment Weekly likewise describes the sequel as rooted in the sadness he and Phoenix felt after the first film and their wish to stay with Arthur. Read Landmark Cinemas’ coverage.
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