Joker told the origin story of Joaquin Phoenix's Clown Prince of Crime, and it was so successful that director Todd Phillips and Warner Bros eventually optioned 2024's sequel, Joker: Folie à Deux. Despite Joker being a controversial movie for its divisive exploration of the topic of mental health, it was also a huge award winner. Phoenix won the Academy Award for Best Actor and Hildur Guðnadóttir won for Best Original Score. This is on top of the movie making $1 billion at the worldwide box office (via Box Office Mojo) on a budget of just $55 million.

The 2019 movie follows Arthur Fleck (Joaquin Phoenix), a clown-for-hire who has a dream of becoming a great stand-up comedian, as he unravels. The sequel picks up Arthur's story, with an expectation that we'd see more of Phoenix's take on a new true Joker: Folie à Deux cast - DC was aiming for a repeat success - but it's fair to say it didn't quite work out that way.

Released on October 4, 2024, Joker: Folie à Deux explores the fallout of Arthur's murder of Franklin Murray (Robert De Niro) on live television. Much of the plot is devoted to his high-profile trial, as well as his lawyer's attempt to have him ruled incapable by means of diminished responsibility. Locked away in Arkham State Hospital, Arthur is adopted as a symbol for Gotham's disaffected residents, and meets Harley "Lee" Quinzel (Lady Gaga), an ardent follower and fellow inmate, who he quickly falls in love with.

Joker 2 Digital Release Date

After Joker 2 was released on October 4, 2024, and in the wake of the movie's box office performance, Variety reported the sequel will be available for rental and purchase on digital platforms on Tuesday, 29 October 2024.

So far, there's no information on when Joker: Folie à Deux will arrive on Max.

Joker: Folie à Deux Controversy, Box Office Performance & Critical Reactions Explained

Joker: Folie à Deux was first screened at Venice Film Festival, picking up immediately divided reactions. By the time it hit cinemas for the public, the Rotten Tomatoes score landed an unwanted Rotten rating, and currently sits at 32%. Despite the first film breaking the billion dollar mark, Joker: Folie à Deux struggled to make its budget back, and was widely proclaimed a disaster for Warner Bros.

Not only that, but fans of the original Joker turned on the film, accusing the film's message of betraying those who connected with Arthur's story. After release, several notable reports emerged of creative friction between director Todd Phillips and the studio (which the studio subsequently debunked), and an inquest into who was the blame for the movie's failure.

• Joker 2 Rotten Tomatoes Score Debuts 9 Points Below Original 2019 Movie
• Joker 2 Box Office Numbers: Total, Worldwide, Domestic, Opening & Records
• Joker: Folie à Deux's Controversy Fully Explained
• Who's To Blame For Joker 2?

Joker: Folie à Deux Cast

Joquin Phoenix reprised his role as Joker, and he isn't the only returning cast member of the original movie, as Zazie Beetz also returned as Sophie Drummond, and Leigh Gill once more played Athur's coworker Gary Puddles.

Phoenix and Beetz were also ed by a mostly new ing cast. Lady Gaga ed as a new take on Harley Quinn, who in the comics is the Arkham Asylum doctor with whom the Joker has a relationship, making her into first a supervillain and then an antihero in her own right after she leaves him. Joker: Folie Á Deux made some major changes to the character, reimagining her as a disillusioned Gothamite who voluntarily checks into Arkham.

Brendan Gleeson (In Bruges, The Banshees of Inisherin), plays brutal Arkham head guard Jackie Sullivan; Jacob Lofland (The Son) plays fellow inmate Ricky; Catherine Keener (Being John Malkovich) and Harry Lawtey (The Pale Blue Eye) plays Arthur's lawyer; and Steve Coogan plays TV talk show host Paddy Meyers, who attempts to get into the mind of Arthur. Harvey Dent also appears in Joker: Folie Á Deux, played by Harry Lawtey.

Joker: Folie à Deux Trailers

Joker 2 Spoilers & Ending Discussion

Like the first movie, Joker: Folie à Deux encourages a lot of discussion, though in a different way to Phillips' 2019 original. The director was keen for Joker's ending to be open to intepretation, which prompted waves of discourse, and subsequent accusations of toxicity. The sequel takes the ideas introduced in its predecessor further, at the same time exploring the idea of Arthur's symbolism in a very meta way. Here's every key ScreenRant article you need to read:

• ScreenRant's Joker: Folie à Deux Review
• Joker: Folie A Deux's 10 Biggest Spoilers
• Joker: Folie A Deux Ending & Real Meaning Explained
• The REAL Joker In Joker 2 Explained
• Joker's Director Told You Exactly How Folie à Deux Would End 5 Years Ago
• Who Is Joker 2 Actually For?

Will Joker 3 Happen?

Ahead of Joker: Folie à Deux's release, Todd Phillips cast doubt on another sequel happening, saying "It was fun to play in this sort of sandbox for two movies, but I think we’ve said what we wanted to say in this world." Given the movie's box office performance - the factor that made the sequel a viable prospect in the first place - the decision probably isn't in his hands anyway.

There is, of course, a world where Joker 2's ending sets up a new movie that doesn't include either Phoenix or Phillips, but with DC Studios focused on the new DCU, that too seems unlikely.

• Will Joker 3 Happen? Everything We Know
• Joker 2 Sets Up A Way Better Sequel (That Won't Ever Happen Now)

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