Think ‘Joker 2′ Was Chaotic? Wait Until You Hear About Its Turbulent Development and Todd Phillips’ Antagonism Toward DC: “No one could get through to Todd”

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As a longtime DC fan and movie enthusiast who’s seen more than my fair share of superhero films, I must say that Joker: Folie à Deux has left me feeling quite disheartened. It’s been a while since I’ve encountered a movie that was so universally panned by both critics and audiences alike.

Last week, the global premiere of “Joker: Folie à Deux” took place, and to describe its release as merely a disaster would be an understatement. In fact, for the first time in a while, there’s a consensus among both fans and critics – the film is disappointing.

The movie, with only a 33% rating from critics and 31% approval from audiences on Rotten Tomatoes, struggled significantly during its debut at the box office. What makes this particularly worrying is its enormous $200 million production cost, more than triple that of the initial film.

The movie has additionally faced numerous instances of audience exits, with certain spectators even asking for their money back. Numerous people have referred to it as a disorganized jumble, and upon reflection of its creation process, it’s evident that it was fated to be chaotic from the outset.

Moving forward, let’s delve into our examination. You might recall that the initial Joker movie was conceived as a one-off production. However, Todd Phillips initially hesitated to produce a sequel until an extraordinary event transpired.

Based on inside reports from Warner Bros., it’s said that Joaquin Phoenix conceived the sequel concept in a dream and played a key role in pushing for the project. Furthermore, Todd Phillips was given extensive creative control and final editing rights for Joker: Folie à Deux, without any test screenings being held to prevent spoilers, despite the film’s plot not containing many significant secrets.

Instead of the initial “Joker” movie, where Walter Hamada from DC Films played a role, there was no input from DC executives in giving the green light for this sequel. During that time, there was internal strife at DC, and James Gunn along with the new leadership at DC Studios had no part in the film’s production, as Phillips pointed out, speaking with a touch of pride.

Regarding Gunn and Safran, I must say this seems reminiscent of a Warner Brothers production, and they appear to encourage the notion of “Let James Gunn carry on with what he does best.

In the end, it’s been reported that Gunn gave suggestions to Todd Phillips about the movie, but Phillips decided to ignore them. Phillips was determined to separate himself from DC and held onto this stance all the way up to the film’s premiere, as one source reveals.

Todd was unreachable by everyone. As for genre matters, if you disregard fan expectations and neglect to pay heed, failure is inevitable.

One significant drawback of the film lies in its musical nature, which was somewhat concealed during the promotional efforts led by Todd Phillips and Lady Gaga.

It seemed clear from the start that the audience might take issue with this disclosure about the movie. However, in its defense, Phillips argued that the film isn’t strictly a musical, although he had previously referred to it as such. His precise words were:

In the film, most of the tunes you hear are actually characters speaking through song. Essentially, Arthur finds it challenging to express his feelings verbally, so he communicates them musically instead.

It’s been said that Phillips initially pondered the idea of a Broadway production before ultimately opting to produce a movie. If you assumed the “musical” aspect of Joker 2 was merely a confusion, you would be off the mark—it was primarily envisioned as a musical production first and foremost, with the Joker theme coming in second place.

For the first version of “Joker”, the budget was set at $55 million, with partners like Bron and Village Roadshow stepping in to share some of the financial risks. But for the follow-up movie, under David Zaslav’s guidance, there’s only one partner, Domain, on board to minimize expenses.

The movie is rumored to have been made at approximately a $200 million budget, and it’s known that Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga were paid substantial amounts. Specifically, it’s said that Phoenix earned around $20 million, while Lady Gaga received roughly $12 million. Interestingly, she agreed to join the production before the script was finalized.

Let’s delve into the movie’s conclusion now. It was evident from the start that director Phillips had no plans to turn Arthur Fleck into “The Joker” before the film hit the screens.

Yet, it was unexpected for anyone to foresee the character’s ordeal involving a deeply embarrassing rite, where they were subjected to the worst treatment imaginable, only to be eventually slain by “the genuine Joker.

The movie ends with an expected scene where the real character portrayed by Phoenix carves a “Glasgow Smile” on himself, which was originally planned but initially blocked by Christopher Nolan. However, since Nolan is no longer with Warner Bros., Phillips was able to employ that ending differently and less impactfully.

The domestic debut of the movie was $37.8 million, which didn’t meet the earnings of “Morbius” and “The Marvels”, and ended up with a “D” cinema rating – the lowest for any superhero film. It’s important to note that “Joker 2” isn’t strictly a superhero movie; it’s actually quite different from its original source, veering more towards fan fiction territory than a faithful adaptation.

Enhancing the idea that Phillips might have deliberately orchestrated this result is the observation that he opted to isolate himself on a ranch instead of attending the film’s premiere, perhaps in expectation of the criticism not only towards him but also the film.

Critics have already started criticizing the director on social platforms, which isn’t necessary. To be honest, it was merely a film, and unfortunately, it didn’t live up to expectations. The humiliation of being associated with the biggest superhero bomb in the last two decades is more than enough.

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2024-10-09 11:14