Throwback: When Joaquin Phoenix Said Fans Would Be Upset About Todd Phillips’ Joker Movie Not Being Comic Accurate
While we are all hyped up about the release of Joker: Folie à Deux, the lead actor from the franchise, Joaquin Phoenix, once made a statement addressing the die-hard fans of DC Comics.
Phoenix, who stars as the titular character in Todd Phillips’s 2019 film, stated that the filmmaker had worked on the ‘‘story of becoming Joker’’ instead of following the original DC material.
The Walk the Line actor made these comments in July 2019 while talking to Empire magazine.
“We didn’t follow anything from the comic books, which people are gonna be mad about. We just wrote our own version of where a guy like Joker might come from,” the actor from I’m Still Here added.
He then went on to say that this was the exact script that had interested him, and also the one that convinced him to do the movie. “We’re not even doing Joker, but the story of becoming Joker. It’s about this man,” the We Own the Night actor stated.
He then went on to recall the time he had a discussion with Todd Phillips during the initial stage of the movie. When first hearing about the film, Phoenix called it “crazy-ambitious. ” Phoenix stated that all the director wanted was to tell the origin story of the Joker, which intrigued the Ladder 49 actor.
With a mindblowing story, the first installment of the movie tells us the tale of a world-famous and beloved antagonist from DC Comics who went on to earn a whopping $1 billion.
The original movie had a grand cast that included Rober De Niro as Murray Franklin, Frances Conroy as Penny Fleck, Glenn Fleshler as Randall, Bill Camp as Gary, Brett Cullen as Thomas Wayne, Douglas Hodge as Alfred Pennyworth, Marc Maron as Ted Marco, Josh Pais as Hoyt Vaughn, and Shea Whigham as Detective Burke.
Meanwhile, the recently released movie Joker: Folie à Deux also brings in a great cast. Lady Gaga now portrays Harley Quinn, the love interest of Phoenix’s Arthur Fleck. The two are shown to meet each other while being incarcerated at Arkham State Hospital, where they form a complex and intriguing relationship.
It’s a continuation of the gripping narrative we saw in the first movie, with Arthur Fleck, now known as the Joker, awaiting his trial following the crimes we witnessed.
Joker: Folie à Deux was released in theaters on October 2, 2024.
ALSO READ: Joker: Folie à Deux Ending Explained; Is Another Sequel Coming?
