'Joker: Folie à Deux' And Its Soundtrack Are Out Now

More than two years after its official announcement, “Joker: Folie à Deux” is finally out in theaters worldwide. 

The musical sequel to Todd Phillips’ Academy Award-winning “Joker” stars Joaquin Phoenix as Arthur Fleck/The Joker, and Lady Gaga as his love interest, Harleen “Lee” Quinzel. 

The film’s soundtrack, featuring new renditions of classic songs like Judy Garland’s “Good Morning” and Frank Sinatra’s “That’s Life,” is also available internationally. 

The film saw its official premiere at the 81st Venice International Film Festival in September 2024, followed by premieres in London and Los Angeles.

In an interview with Variety, Gaga described Phillips’ “big swing” with the film’s concept and script.

“There’s music, there’s dance, it’s a drama,” Gaga said. “It’s also a courtroom drama, it’s a comedy, it’s happy, it’s sad. It’s a testament to [Todd] as a director, that he would rather be creative than just tell a traditional story of love.”

Gaga and Phoenix performed the musical numbers live on set, accompanied by an off-camera pianist to keep their tempo. 

In an interview with Variety, Gaga spoke about how she altered her natural singing voice to fit Lee’s experience, as a character who would not be a professionally trained singer. 

“I’m a trained singer, right? So even my breathing was different when I sang as Lee,” Gaga said. “When I breathe to sing on stage, I have this very controlled way to make sure that I’m on pitch and it’s sustained at the right rhythm and amount of time, but Lee would never know how to do any of that. So, it’s like removing the technicality of the whole thing, removing my perceived art-form from it all and completely being inside of who she is.”

Due to Gaga’s “really, really personal” experience with Lee, she still felt inspired by the character after filming wrapped, leading her to record and release “Harlequin,” a companion album to the film. 

“When we were done with the movie, I just wasn’t done with her,” Gaga told press at the London premiere. “So, because I’m not done with her, I made ‘Harlequin.’ ”

“Harlequin” includes reimagined numbers featured in the film, as well as two original songs, “Folie à Deux” and “Happy Mistake.” 

Gaga performed the latter on Jimmy Kimmel Live! in Los Angeles earlier this week. 

To order the film soundtrack on vinyl, click here. 

To read Lady Gaga Now’s review (spoiler alert!), click here.