While perhaps not a “superhero” film per se, the 2019 hit “Joker” was a shockingly fresh breath of air in the genre.
The film, which took a gritty and realistic approach to explore the origins of Batman’s most recognizable foe, eschewed bombastic CGI and cosmic threats in favor of a more grounded look at how one bad day can make anyone a psychopathic supervillain.
In this writer’s opinion, yes, 2019’s “Joker” is clearly (very, even) derivative of the 1976 Robert De Niro classic “Taxi Driver.” But even given that lack of originality, “Joker” is an easy recommendation for anyone who likes grimmer noir movies, or wants some superhero fare that won’t end with sunshine and rainbows. There’s even an undercurrent of deeply dark humor running throughout the film, for those who appreciate that.
And unlike those awful Sony “Spider-Man” movies that don’t actually have Spidey in them, “Joker” was wise enough to include a very young Bruce Wayne — though far from being Batman — in the film. The Wayne family also featured prominently in the plot, further strengthening that connective tissue.
Given that “Joker” was both a commercial (Per Forbes, the film crossed a billion dollars at the box office after just a few scant months) and critical (the film sits at an 8.4/10 on IMDb based on 1.5 million reviews, and IGN gave it a perfect 10/10 “Masterpiece” score) success, anticipation has been running high since a sequel was announced in June 2022 by director Todd Phillips.
News and information had been trickling out since about “Joker: Folie à Deux,” such as the casting of Lady Gaga opposite the lead, Joaquin Phoenix. It was also revealed that the movie would, in a stark departure from the first film, almost be a “musical.”
Though, in fairness, that tidbit does explain the Gaga casting.
Folie à Deux 🃏 pic.twitter.com/gEwSgsvpbP
— Lady Gaga (@ladygaga) February 15, 2023
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Well, on Wednesday a batch of new information came out about the film, thanks to a rating bulletin from the Motion Picture Association.
That bulletin noted that “Joker: Folie à Deux” (for the curious, folie à deux is defined as a mental illness or delusion shared by two people) would be Rated-R for:
- Some strong violence
- Language throughout
- Some sexuality
- Brief full nudity
(Clearly, this is not a family-friendly movie.)
In addition to that information, the official X account for the Joker movies showed off a new poster and tagline for the film on Tuesday:
The world is a stage. Trailer April 9. #JokerMovie pic.twitter.com/FG6PkzJkvi
— Joker Movie (@jokermovie) April 2, 2024
The poster depicts a well-dressed Joker (Phoenix) dancing with Harley Quinn (Gaga) in what appears to be a cell lit by moonlight creeping through prison bars.
“The world is a stage,” the X post states.
Finally, the new poster also came with a date for the film’s first trailer: April 9.
“Joker: Folie à Deux” comes out October 4, 2024.
