While there may be some original songs included, the upcoming Lady Gaga/Joaquin Phoenix movie sequel Joker: Folie à Deux will mostly be a jukebox musical, Variety reports.
Jukebox musicals shoehorn already existing, popular songs into the plot line: Examples include Mamma Mia!, Moulin Rouge!, Movin’ Out, & Juliet, American Idiot, Jagged Little Pill and Once Upon a One More Time.
Insiders tell Variety that the film will incorporate 15 “very well-known” songs, including “That’s Entertainment” from the 1953 musical The Bandwagon. Even if original songs are added, it’s not known who would write or sing them.
The Todd Phillips film is said to take place in and around Arkham Asylum — a location that’s a longstanding part of the Batman universe — and focus on Phoenix’s Joker, aka Arthur Fleck, and his partner in crime, Lady Gaga’s Harley Quinn. The rest of the cast includes Catherine Keener, Brendan Gleeson and Zazie Beetz.
As previously reported, the budget for the sequel is close to $200 million; the original cost $60 million, grossed over $1 billion worldwide and nabbed 11 Oscar nominations.