Willem Dafoe has recently expressed his interest in playing the Joker in the upcoming sequel to Joker: Folie à Deux. The actor, known for his role as Green Goblin in Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man films, made the suggestion during an appearance on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon. When asked about the possibility of playing the iconic villain, Dafoe jokingly responded, “Hasn’t that been done?” before sharing his idea of playing an imposter Joker who mimics the real Joker’s actions.
“You know, I floated an idea a while ago, but it didn’t quite happen, so… Listen, I didn’t really float it to them. I just mentioned it in an interview and then it kind of went out on the internet. But I thought it would be cool for me to play an imposter — like slipstreaming his thing.” he said.
Dafoe had previously mentioned this idea in an interview last year, saying, “There is something interesting about, like, if there was a Joker imposter. So it would be possible to have not only dueling Jokers but someone that says to be the Joker that isn’t the Joker. And that kind of opens up the possibility of an interesting story, particularly if you had Joaquin Phoenix’s Joker, and then you had someone who was either imitating or riffing off what he did. I fantasized about that.”
Although Dafoe’s Joker idea doesn’t seem to be part of the plans for the sequel, fans have been excited about the upcoming movie, which will feature Joaquin Phoenix reprising his role as the Joker and Lady Gaga as Harley Quinn. The movie is expected to explore the abusive relationship between the two characters and will have a musical element.
In the first Joker movie, Arthur Fleck (played by Phoenix) transforms into the infamous Joker, and the sequel is expected to follow the character’s psychiatrist, Harleen Quinzel, as she descends into madness. The sequel’s plot details are being kept under wraps, but it is expected to take place mainly in Arkham, where Fleck is being held in the State Hospital.
The Joker: Folie à Deux is currently in production, with Todd Phillips returning as the director, and Scott Silver co-writing the script. The film is set to be released in October 2024 and also stars Brendan Gleeson, Zazie Beetz, Catherine Keener, Jacob Lofland, and Harry Lawtey. The first Joker movie is available on 4K UHD, Blu-ray, DVD, and digital formats.
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