When a film doesn’t turn out the way fans hoped, they usually want to know what the hell happened. Whether it’s Star Wars, Marvel, or anything in between, fan speculation can run rampant on social media soon after a project is released. That’s certainly the case with Joker: Folie à Deux, which has been the subject of angry vitriol and poor word of mouth since opening last weekend. Even though reviews for the first film were polarizing, most believed that director Todd Phillips had genuine intentions behind what he was trying to say. When it comes to the sequel, moviegoers are trying to figure out the exact purpose behind its existence, with many believing the movie is meant to be an attack on toxic fandom. As fans continue to debate what exactly went wrong with the Joker sequel, Phillips is making his intentions clear.
During a chat with IGN, Phillips addressed the toxic fan narrative and insisted that was not the point of the film’s premise. The director wanted to tap into Arthur Fleck’s (Joaquin Phoenix) view of reality and explore more of his psyche while also showcasing that Arthur and the Joker persona that he created were very different people.
“[It] was never about addressing toxic fandom, but it was about addressing this idea of what happens if this thing gets put upon you, like we were saying, just five minutes ago, but it’s not actually what you are. And then, what happens in the worst case scenario, if you finally find love in your life or you think you do, but that person is in love with the character that you represent, not the person that you are.”
Complaints about Joker: Folie à Deux have been wide-ranging. Those who loved the 2019 predecessor feel that the sequel dismantles just about everything that happened in the first film, especially considering where Arthur is left by the end of the movie. It appears that he accepts his Joker persona because it allowed him to do things he could never do before and, in the process, created a movement where he is finally seen. All of this is seemingly tossed away in the follow-up, where the audience finds Arthur mostly down on himself, far from the confident character he was by the end of the first movie.
Todd Phillips Believes Arthur Was Never the “Real” Joker
On the other hand, Phillips has publicly said since the release of the sequel that Arthur was never the “real” Joker and that it was a label that was thrust upon him. The director said, “When those guards kill that kid in the [hospital], he realizes that dressing up in makeup, putting on this thing, it’s not changing anything. In some ways, he’s accepted the fact that he’s always been Arthur Fleck. He’s never been this thing that’s been put upon him, this idea that Gotham people put on him, that he represents. He’s an unwitting icon. This thing was placed on him, and he doesn’t want to live as a fake anymore–he wants to be who he is.”
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Other complaints have been aimed at making the sequel a musical; the film’s ending, which many believe renders the two movies pointless in the end; and underutilizing Lady Gaga as Harley Quinn. When it comes down to it, most fans are struggling with determining the true motivations behind Folie à Deux‘s existence. The blame game has been running rampant after the film’s less-than-desirable opening weekend figures, and that’s likely to continue until the dust settles.
Despite what Phillips may have intended, fans do seem to be taking the sequel as a personal attack, with some notion out there that he purposely self-sabotaged the sequel because he never really wanted to make it. Remember, during the promotional tour of the first film, Phillips frequently said the movie was a standalone story and that a sequel wasn’t in the cards. A billion dollars can change things, and now that the sequel is here, it seems to have turned dissapointed fans into the toxic fandom that Phillips may or may not be commenting on.