Folie à Deux’ Director Reveals Drastic Change From DC Comics With Arthur Fleck

Arthur Fleck is making a change and standing by it! The director for Joker: Folie à Deux reveals a key way his film will depart from the original DC comics.

Joker: Folie à Deux follows the continued fall from grace of Arthur Fleck. A clown turned killer, many fans believe that this sequel will only drive the poor man closer to his DC comics counterpart: the Joker. However, according to director Todd Phillips, he doesn’t believe that Fleck will ever become the true Clown Prince of Crime.

“We would never [want him to become the Clown Prince of Crime],” Phillips told Empire in a recent interview. “Because Arthur clearly is not a criminal mastermind. He was never that. Arthur has become this symbol to people.”

“This unwilling, unwitting symbol now paying for the crimes of the first film, but at the same time finding the only thing he ever wanted, which was love. That’s always what he’s been about, even though he’s been pushed and pulled in all these directions. So we tried to just make the most pure version of that.”

While it’s a shame that fans will never see Arthur Fleck don the iconic purple suit and become a criminal mastermind, it makes sense that Todd Phillips wouldn’t want him to become the Clown Prince of Crime. It’s clear that the director is making a large departure from the original DC comics with Joker: Folie à Deux, and that’s never been more clear than with the film’s musical elements.

Todd Phillips Breaks Down Joker: Folie à Deux’s Musical Malodies

Just like the DC comics that created the character, director Todd Phillips isn’t just embracing the idea of making a musical. The director plans to bring some interesting changes to the formula in Joker: Folie à Deux. When speaking on this idea, Joaquin Phoenix explained that Arthur Fleck wouldn’t be singing like a professional in the sequel.

“It was important to protect that with poor phrasing and occasional bum notes,” Phoenix explained to Empire. “Arthur grew up hearing his mother play these songs on the radio. He’s not a singer, and he shouldn’t sound like a professional singer. He should sound like somebody that’s taking a shower and just bursts out into song.”

Joaquin Phoenix’s words should quell at least some of the worries of fans regarding Joker: Folie à Deux. Director Todd Phillips is surely making a film nobody could have imagined when Joker first debuted in DC comics nearly a century ago. Yet nothing defines Arthur Fleck more than accidentally carving his own path in life.

Joker: Folie à Deux is set to hit theaters on October 4, 2024.  Stay tuned for the latest news regarding the sequel and make sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel for more content!