Joker director Todd Phillips has explained why he and his colleagues have been so reluctant to refer to the new sequel as a musical.
Since the Joker follow-up Folie À Deux was first confirmed to be in the works, there’s been a lot of mixed messaging about whether or not it should be called a musical, although it does appear to include several elaborate song-and-dance numbers.
With the film’s release now just a week away, Todd addressed the subject during an interview with Entertainment Weekly.
“I got a little heat for saying it’s not really a musical,” he explained. I wasn’t saying that because I’m afraid of the term, ‘musical.’ I love musicals, and the movie definitely has music in it. It might even be a musical.
“To clarify, most of the times I’ve ever seen a musical, I walk out feeling better than I did when I walked in. On this movie, I’m not sure it’s the same thing.”
He added: “I wouldn’t want to be misleading and say you’re going to be whistling the songs from this movie on the way to your car after you see it.”
Joaquin Phoenix originated the role of Arthur Fleck in the controversial first Joker film, for which he won an Oscar.
He reprises the character in the sequel, which also sees Lady Gaga putting her unique spin on the iconic Batman villain Harley Quinn.
On Friday, Gaga also released Harlequin, a “companion album” to the movie featuring musical numbers that appear in the film, as well as original songs inspired by her character.
Joker: Folie À Deux hits cinemas on Friday 4 October.