Among the most anticipated films of 2024, Joker: Madness at Twohas been in the news this week, with a second trailer released a few days ago. The opportunity for Todd Phillips to grant an interview to an American media outlet, and to make statements that will disappoint some.
Joker: Todd Phillips' ambition
If 2024 is a particularly exciting year for movie and TV lovers, Warner Bros. studio has a lot to do with it. Between the excellent Dune, Part 2 by Denis Villeneuve, whose visual and narrative ambition paid homage to Frank Herbert's cult novel and the visual splendor of Furiosa: A Mad Max Sagaby George Miller, which despite disastrous financial results received a rave reception from critics and spectators who saw it in theaters, the show was there. Warner Bros. hopes that Furiosa will make up for it on VOD like Horizon, the western by Kevin Costner that collapsed under its ambition and is enjoying a great career in streaming after failing to convince audiences in theaters.
Other deadlines are expected by the public. Tim Burton fans will discover Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice in early September – which announces a nice return to the roots for the Burbank filmmaker – while J.R.R. Tolkien fans will rediscover the universe of Lord of the Rings with the animated filmThe Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim, scheduled for December 13, concluding a year rich in great spectacle, served by terribly ambitious HBO series (The Sympathizer in April,House of the Dragonin June,The Penguin in September,Dune: Prophecyin November). And let's not forgetJoker: Madness À Two, whose release on October 2nd is on everyone's calendar.
Following the cult film of 2019, this second part of the adventures of Arthur Fleck/Joker is of great ambition, as evidenced by the two trailers released to date. Its director and producer, Todd Phillips, seems determined to demonstrate that it is possible to make “real cinema” with adaptations of DC superhero comics. However, the filmmaker's ambition could disappoint some Joker fans. Indeed, where some spectators would like the character to end up becoming “The Clown Prince of Crime” who terrifies Gotham, Phillips explained to in an interview with Empire that he didn't see the character that way. “He never will be. Because Arthur was never a criminal mastermind. He was never that.” In Joker: Folie Á Deux, Arthur Fleck “finds the one thing he always wanted: love.” It's a unique take on the Joker, far removed from the comics. But isn't that what's most interesting about it?