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Coverage dated October 2, 2024 to October 7, 2024

‘Joker: Folie à Deux’s’ Fatal Flaw Is Turning the Fans Into the Villains of the Sequel

Headline from Variety, on the newest of 2 developments

The biggest problem with 'Joker 2' and Todd Phillips is the way the comic book sequel treats fans.

Variety's own description from its feed. We collect headlines and these descriptions, not full articles; read the original reporting below.

Developments in this update

2 dated developments, oldest first, newest marked. Each is named by one outlet's own headline; open its reports to see every outlet that covered it.

  1. Joker: Folie A Deux’s Terrible Ending Is One Christopher Nolan Vetoed

    Headline from Forbes ·

  2. Newest

    ‘Joker: Folie à Deux’s’ Fatal Flaw Is Turning the Fans Into the Villains of the Sequel

    Headline from Variety ·

1 report not tied to one development ·

Read the reports

Reports & sources

29 articles, oldest first.

  1. Rolling Stone

    'Joker: Folie à Deux' Has a Message for Fans: Go F-ck Yourself (opens Rolling Stone)

    Published

    Rolling Stone's feed description

    Kudos to this 'Joker' follow-up for not just delivering another angry-young-clown carbon copy — but who, exactly, is this musical sequel for?

  2. Gizmodo

    Joker: Folie à Deux Review: A Disappointing DC Sequel (opens Gizmodo)

    Published

    Gizmodo's feed description

    Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga star in the sequel to the 2019 Oscar-winning DC standalone film.

  3. Forbes

    ‘Joker: Folie A Deux’ Review Scores Crash Ahead Of Release (opens Forbes)

    Published

    Forbes's feed description

    Joker: Folie a Deux review scores have utterly crashed on Rotten Tomatoes one day ahead of its official release on October 4.

  4. GQ

    Yes, That's Really How ‘Joker: Folie à Deux’ Ends (opens GQ)

    Published

    GQ's feed description

    The muddled quasi-musical sequel to Todd Philips' 2019 superhero hit builds to a sad-trombone punchline.

  5. The Conversation US

    Joker: Folie à Deux as ‘ruin porn’ – how the new sequel plays with duplication and disintegration (opens The Conversation US)

    Published

    The Conversation US's feed description

    The new Joker sequel plays with the character’s long tradition of dual identity. But this time, the joke is on the audience.

  6. Reason

    ‘Joker: Folie à Deux’ is a miserable, musical slog (opens Reason)

    Published

    Reason's feed description

    The comic-book sequel is a dull, dismal, event-free recap of its predecessor.

  7. Digital Journal

    Review: ‘Joker: Folie à Deux’ deliberately and mistakenly loses focus (opens Digital Journal)

    Published

    Digital Journal's feed description

    ‘Joker: Folie à Deux’ combines the title character’s murder trial with a poorly concocted musical.

  8. Observer

    ‘Joker: Folie à Deux’ Review: A Shocking Movie—Shockingly Bad, That Is (opens Observer)

    Published

    Observer's feed description

    Movie review, 'Joker: Folie à Deux': This sequel to the Oscar winning 2019 film is shocking—but only in how bad it is.

  9. Digital Trends

    Joker: Folie à Deux review: an oddly timid musical sequel (opens Digital Trends)

    Published

    Digital Trends's feed description

    In Joker: Folie à Deux, Joaquin Phoenix reprises the role of a misfit wallflower killer in a genre-bending sequel too cautious to really go for it.

  10. Forbes

    Joker: Folie A Deux’s Audience Score Drops 52% From ‘Joker’ (opens Forbes)

    Published

    Forbes's feed description

    Joker: Folie a Deux has seen a massive divide in audience scores from the first movie, this time agreeing with critics about its quality compared to Joker 1.

  11. The Atlantic

    ‘Joker: Folie à Deux’ Feels Like Punishment (opens The Atlantic)

    Published

    The Atlantic's feed description

    The Joker sequel has nothing interesting to say about the challenge of fame.

  12. Digital Trends

    Joker 2’s ending, explained (opens Digital Trends)

    Published

    Digital Trends's feed description

    Now that Joker: Folie à Deux is in theaters, it's time to break down the story and what the ending means for the Joaquin Phoenix's character.

  13. Polygon

    Joker: Folie à Deux can’t stop contradicting itself (opens Polygon)

    Published

    Polygon's feed description

    Todd Phillips and Joaquin Phoenix return for Joker: Folie à Deux, but not even Lady Gaga’s Harley Quinn could give this not-comic-book comic book movie clarity.

  14. Time

    Making Sense of Joker: Folie à Deux’s Baffling Surprise Ending (opens Time)

    Published

    Time's feed description

    What the bleak closing scene of Todd Phillips' Joker sequel means for its titular character's origin story.

  15. NPR

    'Joker: Folie à Deux' is much a deux about nothing : Pop Culture Happy Hour (opens NPR)

    Published

    NPR's feed description

    The new film Joker: Folie à Deux is the sequel to 2019's Joker, which won Joaquin Phoenix an Oscar. This new film is a courtroom drama and a romance tossed into a musical blender set to liquefy, as the Joker goes on trial for the murders he committed in the last film and falls in love with a groupie…

  16. The Conversation US

    Joker: Folie à Deux is relentlessly claustrophobic – and castigates its fans at every turn (opens The Conversation US)

    Published

    The Conversation US's feed description

    Few blockbuster films can ever have been this unrelievedly grim.

  17. Time

    Joker: Folie à Deux Feels Like a Movie for No One: Review (opens Time)

    Published

    Time's feed description

    Todd Phillips' sequel to his 2019 vigilante extravaganza, starring Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga, has so little energy that it sags off the screen.

  18. Insider

    The shocking 'Joker: Folie à Deux' ending adds a unique twist to the Joker character (opens Insider)

    Published

    Insider's feed description

    "Joker: Folie à Deux" has quite the polarizing ending. Let's break down who's the real Joker.

  19. Hot Air

    ‘Joker: Folie a Deux’ Trumps 2019 Blockbuster (opens Hot Air)

    Published

  20. Gizmodo

    Let's Talk About the Ending of Joker: Folie à Deux (opens Gizmodo)

    Published

    Gizmodo's feed description

    Joaquin Phoenix and Lada Gaga star in the DC sequel from director Todd Phillips.

  21. Forbes

    ‘Joker: Folie A Deux’ Has Set A Comic Book Movie Record (opens Forbes)

    Published

    Forbes's feed description

    Joker: Folie a Deux is a massive miss of a sequel, a black mark for DC and what is likely to be a box office failure with an inexplicably bloated budget. But now? It’s set a full-on record. A bad one.

  22. Los Angeles Times

    Commentary: What went wrong with 'Joker: Folie à Deux': A creative and box-office flop, explained (opens Los Angeles Times)

    Published

    Los Angeles Times's feed description

    Todd Phillips' sequel, starring Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga, doesn't respect the musical genre — and it paid the price with critics and audiences alike.

  23. Forbes

    Why ‘Joker’ Fans Are Disappointed With ‘Folie A Deux’ (opens Forbes)

    Published

    Forbes's feed description

    Viewers have been left disappointed by the ‘Joker’ sequel ‘Folie a Deux,’ which deliberately deconstructs the mythos of the first film.

  24. Gizmodo

    Joker: Folie à Deux Bombed—What Went Wrong? (opens Gizmodo)

    Published

    Gizmodo's feed description

    Much like Arthur Fleck himself, the Joker sequel is struggling to find an appreciative audience.

  25. Forbes

    The Controversial Ending Of ‘Joker 2,’ Explained (opens Forbes)

    Published

    Forbes's feed description

    ‘Joker’ sequel ‘Folie a Deux’ gives an ending to Joaquin Phoenix’s Arthur Fleck, but the final scene has surprised viewers—here’s what it means.

Showing the first 25 of 29 headlines. ·