Joker 2 Finally Delivers What Batman Fans Crave: 'Brief Full Nudity'
The first "Joker" film wasn't just a box office smash, it was also the first R-rated movie ever to gross over $1 billion. It became the highest-grossing R-rated movie of all time, beating out "Deadpool." Most Batman-adjacent films have been rated PG-13 (with the exception of the R-rated cuts of some Zack Snyder films), but director Todd Phillips gave audiences something dArK and tWiStEd — a hard-R-rated movie full of graphic violence and lots of scenes of Joaquin Phoenix smoking some cigs. With all that in mind, it was probably a safe assumption that "Joker 2," aka "Joker: Folie à Deux," would land itself an R-rating. If it ain't broke, don't fix it, as the saying goes.
Sure enough, the "Joker" sequel now has itself a rating — and it's an R. But it's the reasoning behind the R-rating that might cause some people to do a double take. According to Deadline, it seems the film has earned its R for "some strong violence, language throughout, some sexuality, and brief full nudity." Yes, you read that right: there's going to be full nudity in "Joker 2." Talk about twisted!
Will Joker hang dong? Only the twisted mind of Todd Phillips knows
"Joker 2" is going to focus on the doomed romance between Joaquin Phoenix's Joker and his psychiatrist, Dr. Harleen Quinzel, the woman destined to become Harley Quinn, played in the film by none other than Lady Gaga. With that in mind, the "some sexuality" classification makes sense. But it's the "brief full nudity" that will likely give people pause. Who is getting nude here? Harley? Joker? Mr. Freeze? Will Todd Phillips finally give us what we've longed to see: the Joker's penis? Perhaps. Perhaps not. Perhaps a completely secondary character gets nude in the background of a scene. We'll have to wait and see.
"Joker: Folie à Deux" is also a musical, and full nudity isn't something you see in many musicals, so hat's off to you, Todd Phillips. I guess. Anyway, in addition to Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga, "Joker 2" also stars Zazie Beetz, Steve Coogan, Brendan Gleeson, and Catherine Keener. The trailer for the film is set to drop on April 9, giving us our first real look at what Phillips and company have cooked up here. I know the discourse around the first "Joker" reached near-hysterical levels, but I'm genuinely excited to see whatever nonsense is in store for the sequel. One question remains: will this film be as big of a hit as the first? It has a hefty budget, so that remains to be seen.
"Joker: Folie à Deux" sings and dances and gets nude in theaters on October 4, 2024.