'Joker: Folie à Deux' Will Feature At Least 15 Cover Songs; Original Songs Possible
It’s gonna be a song of love and mental health this October
Joker: Folie à Deux has long been known to be a musical, a fact confirmed just days after the film’s announcement. However, it had been rather quiet as to what it will entail. Heck, the plot for the sequel to 2019’s Joker introducing Harley Quinn, played by Lady Gaga, to the returning Joaquin Phoenix as Joker, is still pretty unknown, other than as a drama with portions occurring in and around Arkham Asylum. The music surrounding the plot however is starting to have a proper glean.
Close insiders on the Todd Phillips film say the movie is “mostly a jukebox musical,” integrating at least 15 “very well-known” songs. It’s of course pre-existing songs that are integral to being considered a jukebox musical, like Mamma Mia!, Moulin Rouge, Tina, and & Juliet. While one of the former two The first to be known of the chosen songs seems to be “That’s Entertainment” from 1953 musical The Band Wagon, the song itself being popularized Judy Garland in the early ‘60s after the musical itself didn’t do so great at the box office.
Even still it’s still expected to break the mold of such a format, and that very well may be because considerations are still being made for original songs to be part of the film. Details on writers or singers for those original songs haven’t been ironed out, let alone let out. Hildur Guðnadóttir, who returns for this film having won the Academy Award for composing the first film’s score, is described as infusing her “distinctive, haunting [music] cues” into each number. It should also be noted that none of this has come with comment from Warner Bros.
In addition to Phoenix and Gaga, the cast includes the returning Zazie Beetz as Sophie Dumond, as well as Leigh Gill and Sharon Washington reprising their roles as co-worker Gary and social worker, respectively. Catherine Keener, Brendan Gleeson, Jacob Lofland, Steve Coogan, Ken Leung and Harry Lawtey all join as new characters. Phillips and Scott Silver wrote the screenplay, and the film reportedly has a $200 million budget. Joker: Folie à Deux is set to be released in theaters on October 4, 2024.
Source: Variety