Joker: Folie à Deux | Official IMAX® Interview | Filmed For IMAX®

Experience the madness between fantasy and reality as we chat with Todd Phillips on the inspiration behind 'Joker: Folie à Deux' and the creative process of making it #FilmedForIMAX.

[jbogacz]

I thought it was a great follow-up that absolutely makes sense for Arthur and his world.

[rezgavron]

I get where both the positive and negative opinions come from. Someone mentioned not fully understanding it for what it is, and honestly, that’s the key—try seeing it from that angle. It’s like an anti-blockbuster. A big-budget social experiment. The title itself is tricky to search for or even spell unless you’re French. It’s not about fan service either. It’s always been “Joker, ” not “The Joker.” “Origin story, ” not “the origin story.” At its core, it’s entertainment, and the film’s slogan, “The world is a stage, ” directly nods to the song “That’s Entertainment.” This isn’t a troll piece; it’s a commentary on how everything, including human suffering, is turned into something consumable, glossing over real struggles. In that sense, it’s actually unique.

The film highlights themes like societal abuse, neglect, exploitation, and how we often misunderstand mental illness, all wrapped in a bit of chaotic fun. Sure, the pacing and some of the musical numbers are off—some don’t even have rhythm—and there are awkward moments like the “You cut your hair?” line. It’s like, “Yeah, I was about to shoot myself, but sure, I got a haircut instead.” It’s messy, but we can all agree on that.

Gaga’s character, Lee, is like a reflection of the audience. With each court hearing, she starts to look more like the Joker. She makes up her entire backstory to match his. She’s not after his trust—she’s after the illusion she talks about at the end. She tricks him into thinking that the Joker persona is what everyone expects from him. That’s why he was standing on that car at the end of the first movie. When Arthur rejects becoming the Joker everyone wanted, Lee leaves the courtroom disappointed, just like some audience members left the theater. No one cared about Arthur’s mental illness—they just wanted Joker, the violence, the spectacle, and all the chaos tied to the character.

Few people really dive deep into this movie; most get stuck on the surface-level stuff.

As for the music, it’s important. His laughter is his pain, and music is his peace. Musical numbers have been a huge part of film history—without them, we’d still be watching silent movies. So, it’s hard to understand why some people are so dismissive of it. With comic book movies dominating Hollywood, this one feels like a bridge between classic American cinema and today’s hits.

In the end, it’s an art piece. It’s post, it’s neo, it’s meta. Whether you like it or not comes down to personal taste. Both parts play with the intellectual property in a way that defies labels—it’s not meant to be overanalyzed. Our consciousness is complex, and with a bit of radical acceptance, you can find peace with that. It challenges you to learn that. As James Baldwin said, “Artists are here to disturb the peace, ” and in the echo chamber surrounding this film, that’s exactly what it does. Also, with this level of discussion the potential for a future cult classic kinda tickles my brain 🧠

[stefanoredaelli]

Great movie, I think most of people are just don't understanding it. The musical numbers are fabulous and they blend well with the story, the philosophy under the movie is great too, performances are top notch as well as visuals. Found it tragic and interesting and entertaining

[jasongoode]

I think Joker Folie a Deux is a misunderstood masterpiece.

[akaashdarji]

I genuinely don’t understand why people are upset. It’s an ELSEWORLD tale. It’s not meant to be the OG Joker and Harley. It’s a “take” on those characters. I feel the first Joker film is almost a depiction of Arthur’s mind. Folie A Deux feels like a depiction of his heart. The entire second film is an emotion and is extremely abstract capturing the souls and some toxic traits within Joker and Harley’s love for each other. They also flipped certain things such as Harley being the more dominant character in their bond however once again it’s an Elseworld story and I could feel the deeper side of their relationship through the music and moments within this dark theatrical love story. The added element of “The Joker” being an almost demonic entity which picks and chooses when to possess Arthur reminded me so much of how even Bruce Wayne feels slightly haunted by the entity that is Batman (like The Dark Knight Returns). This “take” was beautifully tragic and it was so moving to see Joker and Harley not in their comic book accurate form but more so represented from their hearts, souls and how their bond is like a dark twisted fairy tale. It’s not for everyone but it doesn’t deserve this much hate. For me it was a masterpiece and has the potential to have a cult following years from now ♥️

[slimbob]

The movie is jarring at first but makes a lot more sense on the second viewing.

[Arquebusier]

Amazing masterpiece. Keeps me thinking of the movie

[anonymouskk]

Love this film. Its 10x better than the first one. Actual art. If you hate it, stick to watching pathetic studio garbage like alien romulus made so you can clap like seals at member berries. If you actually love films and batman and joker, you will love and appreciate what this film did for the joker. Its genius. Everyone is just too stup1d nowadays because they’d rather doom scroll all day and watch avengers than actually engage with a piece of art. You can just tell by every hate comment that this film is getting, thats the people placing them havent even properly engaged with the movie and have just hated it cos thats what everyone else is doing. All sheep

[lilissayas]

People are too harsh on this movie and I feel like they will come around to it. This film should be celebrated for trying to push the art in the comic book movie genre it was an art house film disguised as a comic book movie.

[WillMurdockUSA]

The first film wasn't great for me, besides that final act, but I ended up loving this film a ton. The 1.43.1 AR was spectacular, the performances were top notch, the music was really great, and the choices made a ton of sense to me. TLDR: "Film Bros" will hate this movie.

[k-]

When you think something good is going to happen, they start singing, what the f?

[mrsimp]

The movie was amazing. Idk why other people say it was terrible.

[MrPcgamerever]

I really liked this movie. Phoenix and Gaga were amazing and musical/fantasy segments were wonderful.

[PiggyGuru]

Definitely not as bad as people are saying. Too realistic for it's own good and shoudnt of been called Joker and it'd be fine. People's expectations are what hurt this film along with Todd's definitive visions and seeing it through

[jvydee]

It could be surmised that the director deliberately constrained the protagonist’s range of action. Even in the fleeting moments of apparent release, the protagonist is far from free and instead experiences the most harrowing events of his life. Arthur is trapped, while the Joker is liberated, but what follows remains meticulously veiled. Why? The director clearly sought to bring the Joker into reality, yet the version we see remains imprisoned on the screen. By showing just enough, he leaves us to imagine the fear and chaos that would unfold were this character to leap beyond the confines of film. In this sense, the thriller resonates more deeply than the first installment.

As for the claim that musicals are dull, I beg to differ. Anyone who has seen A Star Is Born would have witnessed Lady Gaga's emotionally charged and vocally explosive performance. To the more discerning and perceptive, it’s evident that her portrayal was not a matter of unrestrained expression—it was meticulously tailored, carefully restrained, and deliberately limited to serve the film’s thematic core. This approach not only enhanced the character’s depth but also enriched the enigmatic allure of the film as a whole, far from diminishing its impact.

[rd-Wave_Rebel]

If this movie has nothing to do with characters in the DC universe and stand-alone as an artistic art house movie. Then it’s a masterpiece but because the director trolled the audience and fans about the joker’s origin story is where it draws the line!

[LifeOfRy]

I can't get over how sour the taste left in my mouth is after seeing the sequel.

They rose SO high with Joker. Achieved something genuinely staggering and beautifully raw and unprecedented.

The sequel was poised to be really great - and they utterly fumbled it.

I'm so disappointed, especially when the first film was meant as a standalone piece.

Poor Joaquin and Gaga.

[dianariverjackson]

I don’t understand the contrast in the reviews between the first and second movie

They are hailing the first movie as a masterpiece and they completely slaughtered the second one.

[kravoh]

Personally I do not like musicals, so several times I felt like leaving the movie. I understand that is not my cup of tea and some people like the movie. The part that I don't understand is that what they show in the trailers, does not relate at all to what you will see in the movie. Yes, they try to attract as much people as possible, marketing, blah blah blah, but it doesn't show that they are proud of what they created, if they really were, they would've shown more (or anything if any) of the musicals in these trailers, way more.

[frck]

Look at the Joker 2 defenders in comment section. Maybe ya’ll should buy more tickets to watch if you like it so much