Joaquin Phoenix and director Todd Phillips argued about key part of Joker as sequel gets 33% Rotten Tomatoes score
Joker 2's Joaquin Phoenix and director Todd Phillips disagreed on one key part of the DC supervillain before shooting the first movie.
Joker: Folie à Deux finally hit cinemas last week, five years after Phoenix's Oscar-winning performance as the chilling Arthur Fleck in the original film.
The actor put a unique spin on a character that has had polarising reviews since Heath Ledger's iconic portrayal of the Joker in The Dark Knight.
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But it seems Phoenix couldn't replicate that magic in the Joker's sequel where he starred opposite Lady Gaga, who portrayed Fleck's love interest Harley Quinn, as the flick is currently rated just 33 percent on Rotten Tomatoes.
In fact, it's been reported that there have been 'mass walkouts' during screenings of the sequel so far, with fans less than pleased with the film after it was taken in a musical direction.
When we look back, we'll hopefully remember Phoenix's excellent take on the DC villain, with his signature sinister laugh, nervous demeanour and his iconic clown-like appearance.
However, it turns out that the actor had a spat with the director of both Joker films, Todd Phillips, over one aspect of the character that they seemingly never saw eye-to-eye on.
Before the release of Joker in 2019, the Napoleon actor revealed to the New York Times that he had to lose a load of weight to play Arthur Fleck the way that Phillips envisaged him.
Calling the process of following a weight loss diet as a 'horrible way to live', Phoenix explained that he wanted the Gotham City tormentor to be 'kind of heavy' when speaking to Phillips, having lost weight for roles previously.
However, the director didn't let it happen in the end, saying that Phoenix would need to get 'real thin' for the film. The actor ended up losing 52 pounds for his role in the first movie.
Phoenix spoke about his weight-loss for Joker: Folie À Deux at the Venice Film Festival in September, highlighting that he wouldn't be doing it again.
The star revealed: “I’m not going to talk through specifics of the diet, because I just think nobody wants to hear that.
“But this time, [losing weight] felt a bit more complicated, just because there was so much dance rehearsal that we were doing, which I didn’t have last time.”
Phoenix concluded: “So it felt a bit more difficult, but it is safe.
“I’m now 49, I probably shouldn’t do this again. This is probably it for me.”
Joker: Folie à Deux is in cinemas now.
Topics: Joker, Joaquin Phoenix, Film, Celebrity
Joshua Nair