As of Now, Joaquin Phoenix’s Joker 2 is the Only Movie That Has Not Received the Cancel Curse After WB-Discovery Merger
In April 2022 Warner Brothers and Discovery announced their merger. Who knew that the merger would lead to the cancellation of a number of movies in DC? Earlier this month the studio officially canceled Batgirl. Even when the movie was almost finished and was ready to be released on HBO Max. After canceling Batgirl, WBD has given announced Joker 2, which will star, Joaquin Phoenix.
He also claimed that the company wants to focus on producing high-quality movies based on superheroes in DC. Batgirl is not the only film the company has canceled. Movies including Wonder Twins and Legends of Tomorrow have been canceled with several on the pending list.
However movies like Black Adam; Shazam! Fury of the Gods; Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom are all set to release and will not be canceled.
Joaquin Phoenix to Comeback in Joker: Folie à Deux
The sequel to the 2019 film Joker, Joker: Folie à Deux is also scheduled to be released on October 24, 2024. The filming of the movie will start in December this year. Joaquin Phoenix will once again appear on screen as Arthur Fleck. Lady Gaga has also joined the cast of the film and will be playing Harley Quinn.
The budget for this sequel is way much higher than the original film. According to a report in Variety, the movie’s budget can be three times higher than the original film.
Where Joaquin Phoenix and the director Todd Phillips are said to be paid $20 million each, Lady gaga is also getting a $10 million payday for the movie. Not just this, the movie is also believed to be a musical.
Complicated Musical Sequences
According to some insiders, the movie can also feature some complicated musical sequences. The assumptions were confirmed after Lady Gaga was announced to play Harley Quinn in the movie. The actress and singer received praise for her work in the movie a star is born.
The musical sequences in the movie would also require quite the budget, taking the whole budget for the film to around $150 million. The budget is considered huge seeing the current financial state of the studio.
After canceling Batgirl and keeping multiple movies pending, Joker 2 is the only film to make it through the Warner Brothers Discovery merger. It become a topic of discussion among fans when the company canceled one movie for tax write-down and then put everything on another movie that hasn’t even started its production yet.
Read Also: Joker 2: New Development Update On The Film
WBD’s Future Plans
The reason for the cancellation was a negative test screening. This received a huge backlash from fans. The CEO of WBD, David Zaslav has said that the company is drafting a 10-year plan for the DC Universe, somewhat similar to what MCU did with avengers and their other movies.
However, this is not the first movie on which WB has spent a load of money. The reboot of Batman, The Batman starring Robert Pattinson, had a budget of $185 million.
The CEO of Warner Brothers Discovery has said that the company is planning to release the movies in theatres first and later would be available on a streaming platform. Taking into consideration the Batgirl budget, which was raised from 75 million to 90 million, the creators decided to shut it down.
According to several resources, Batgirl was too small for a theatrical release as a movie and was too big for a television show. It would cost a lot for the WB to market the movie and considering these factors they decide to shut it off as a business loss, hoping to recover some of the money.
Source: CBR
