Prior to the large success of Joker in 2019, Joaquin Phoenix had visions of returning to play Arthur Fleck, however in a totally completely different format.

What was the Joker Broadway present going to be about?

Speaking to Variety, director Todd Phillips and Phoenix recalled how, shortly earlier than manufacturing wrapped on Joker, Phoenix advised Phillips that he had a dream about performing as Fleck onstage, telling jokes and singing like Fleck dreamed of doing within the 2019 film.

“Todd was in the wings talking to me through a headset,” Phoenix recalled. “I woke up feeling elated and called him, hoping he’d want to do a show with me.”

That dream led the pair to take into consideration how to proceed the story of Fleck on the Broadway stage. However, Phillips quickly realized that wasn’t sensible and would require method an excessive amount of time, and that was earlier than the COVID-19 pandemic hit.

“When we started really thinking about it, we realized it takes four years to put something like that together. And is Joaquin really going to give six months of his life to do that every night onstage,” Phillips says. “Then we thought about doing it at the Carlyle as sort of a smaller thing. But COVID hit.”

The idea itself nonetheless lingered, although, and is partly what led to the upcoming Joker: Folie à Deux being what it’s now, a musical sequel all about Fleck’s romance with Harleen “Lee” Quinzel (performed by Lady Gaga).

“Why do something if it doesn’t scare the s— out of you,” Phillips asks. “I’m addicted to risk. I mean, it keeps you up at night. It makes your hair fall out. But it’s the sweat that keeps you going.”

Joker: Folie à Deux is about to launch in theaters on October 4, 2024.

(Source: Variety)