Todd Phillips shares why Lady Gaga's Harley Quinn is unique in ‘Joker: Folie a Deux’

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Filmmaker Todd Phillips has given an insight into his upcoming flick, ‘Joker: Folie a Deux'.

‘The Hangover’ director, who took a deep dive into the dark world of Joker, shared with Variety about the inspiration and the character behind the movie.

What is different about Lady Gaga's Harley Quinn?

The 53-year-old talked about Harley Quinn’s character played by Lady Gaga, and what makes it different from others.

“The high voice, that accent, the gum-chewing and all that sort of sassy stuff that’s in the comics, we stripped that away,” Phillips said.

“We wanted her to fit into this world of Gotham that we created from the first movie,” he further explained.

Harley Quinn is a supervillain character first introduced in a 1990s animated ‘Batman' series, and then played out on the big screen by Margot Robbie in ‘Suicide Squad’ and ‘Birds of Prey’.

On making music for this project with Phillips, Gaga shared, “We asked ourselves what would need to be true for two people to just break into song in the middle of a conversation?”

“Where does the music come from when no one can hear it but the characters? Neither Arthur nor Lee are professional singers, and they shouldn’t sound like they are,” the ‘Gucci’ star added.

Joaquin Phoenix joined in, “It was important to me that we never perform the songs as one typically does in a musical. We didn’t want vibrato and perfect notes.” As they wanted it to be more “nerve-racking but honest.” 

Internet split over Todd Phillips' take on Lady Gaga's Harley Quinn

Netizens shared their honest take on one of the most cult figures in the comic world. A few were excited to see Todd Phillips' portrayal of Harley Quinn, while others felt he shouldn't have tampered with the traits of the original character.

A fan commented on X, "Todd phillips actually explained it well… it’s like joaquin phoenix’s joker was his own take on the character so is gaga’s harley to fit in this universe."

"Good. They don't need to do the version from the animated series. They need to do one that fits in the world of their version of the Joker," one expressed.

Another questioned the director, "So Harley Quinn in name only? Lol should have just created another character." One remarked, "So they destroyed the very essence of the character itself in favor of implementing their personal 'vision.'”

One critic felt, "So, pretty much what some people have said in the past. He's just making a movie and using established Batman character names and locations for his characters." Someone else asked, "Am I the only one excited to not just see the exact same Harley Quinn for the 30th time in a row?"

This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.