Lady Gaga doesn’t consider Joker: Folie à Deux to be a musical.
The 38-year-old star plays Harley Quinn in the sequel to the acclaimed 2019 film Joker that features music prominently but she explained that it was merely an alternative method of allowing the characters to “express themselves”.
Speaking at the Venice Film Festival, Gaga said: “It’s very different.”
“The music is a way to give the characters a way to express themselves because the dialogue wasn’t enough.”
Gaga revealed that she decided to join the cast of the sequel after being “really deeply” moved by Joaquin Phoenix’s portrayal of the deranged criminal Arthur Fleck/The Joker.
Gaga said: “Joaquin’s performance set the bar extremely high. And I think sometimes when stories are told of people who are misunderstood by society, the actors and director can show you something unknown to you. And with Joker I felt I got to understand and see something I never understood before.”
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Director Todd Phillips revealed that he discussed the idea of making the sequel a musical in a conversation with Phoenix during production on the first film.
The 53-year-old filmmaker said: “If you remember the first film Arthur has a musicality to him. He is often dancing to express the way he feels. And Hildur Guonadottir’s score is almost a character in the first film. So when it started taking shape with actual music elements we thought what if we got Lady Gaga who actually brings music with her.”
Phillips confessed that he is “more nervous” about the world seeing the sequel than he was about the release of the original picture – which also premiered at Venice five years ago.
He said: “It felt like the logical launching point for this second film. We have a very strong feeling with Venice and what happened last time. I would say on this one I’m more nervous. There are a lot more expectations on a second film. There’s more nervousness.”
Joker: Folie à Deux is scheduled to open in theaters on October 4.
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