Lady Gaga Says She Doesn't Think Joker 2 Is A Musical, Proceeds To Describe It As A Textbook Musical
The Joker 2 musical debate continues.
Todd Phillips' Joker was a huge success upon its release, with some considering the grueling drama as one of the best superhero movies of all time (even if there's no actual hero). It's sequel is the next upcoming DC movie heading to theaters, and will pair the Oscar-winning actor with Lady Gaga's Harleen Quinzel. Gaga recently said she doesn't think Folie à Deux is a musical, but proceeded to describe it as a textbook musical.
What we know about Joker 2 is limited, but fans are eager for the story of the original movie (which is streaming with a Max subscription) to continue. The Joker: Folie à Deux trailers showed off the movie's musical numbers, so the public has been wondering exactly how much singing is in the forthcoming drama. While speaking at the Venice Film Festival (via Deadline's twitter), Mother Monster spoke about how and why the project uses musical numbers. In her words:
With all due respect to Lady Gaga, that... sounds exactly like a musical. In pretty much every Broadway show or movie musical, characters usually begin singing because their emotions are so strong that dialogue is no longer enough. It remains to be seen how Joker 2 differs from the productions currently gracing the Great White Way, her description definitely makes it seem like it's using the rules of a traditional musical.
CinemaBlend's Joker 2 review took aim at its pacing, so it remains to be seen how the movie's songs help to buoy fan excitement. Lady Gaga's comments at Venice in many ways mirror Todd Phillip's take on the musical debate, where he insisted that the movie's songs are being treated as dialogue itself. As a reminder, you can check out the trailer for Joker: Folie à Deux below.
From this limited footage, it does look like Arthur Fleck and Harleen Quinzel have a common connection with music in Joker: Folie à Deux. They're shown singing to each other, seemingly in both reality and fantasy sequences. Since Joaquin Phoenix's title character has been established as an unreliable narrator, it feels like just about anything could happen.
Whether or not the cast and crew consider Joker 2 to be a musical, casting Lady Gaga in a role that's both dramatic and requires singing feels like a brilliant choice. What's more, it seems like she and Joaquin Phoenix really matched each other's energy on set.
All will be revealed when Joker: Folie à Deux hits theaters on October 4th. For now, check the 2025 movie release dates to plan your next movie experience.
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Corey was born and raised in New Jersey. Graduated with degrees theater and literature from Ramapo College of New Jersey. After working in administrative theater for a year in New York, he started as the Weekend Editor at CinemaBlend. He's since been able to work himself up to reviews, phoners, and press junkets-- and is now able to appear on camera with some of his favorite actors... just not as he would have predicted as a kid. He's particularly proud of covering horror franchises like Scream and Halloween, as well as movie musicals like West Side Story. Favorite interviews include Steven Spielberg, Spike Lee, Jamie Lee Curtis, and more.