Lady Gaga, Joaquin Phoenix bring Venice to a halt with star power: Joker 2 premiere

Fans couldn't get enough of the star power last night (September 4) at the Venice Film Festival as the leading cast of Joker: Folie à Deux attended the film’s premiere amid much fanfare. People waited outside the venue with bated breath for a glimpse of their favourite stars – Joaquin Phoenix, Lady Gaga and Joker director Todd Phillips. 

Joker 2 has a lot riding on it as its predecessor managed to ruffle some feathers in the awards season. Whether the sequel lives up to the hype of the first Todd Phillips film, will have to be seen. 

Joker: Folie à Deux premieres at Venice Film Festival

At the Venice Film Festival, Joker: Folie à Deux got an 11-minute standing ovation with praises for the works of both leading stars, Joaquin and Lady Gaga. While Joaquin plays Joker, Lady Gaga plays his lover, Harley Quinn. 

Before the premiere, Joaquin Phoenix reached early and took selfies with fans on the red carpet. By the time Lady Gaga made it to the red carpet, it was pure chaos as everyone wanted a picture with the star, paparazzi wanted some shots of the singer-actor while others wanted autographs. 

Lady Gaga caused a stampede-like situation when she walked down the stairs from the balcony seat from where she was watching the film. Joaquin left nine minutes into the clapping and didn’t wait for it to end. 

Gaga attended the Joker premiere with her fiance, Michael Polansky. 

Joker: Folie à Deux Plot and Cast

Joker: Folie à Deux takes place two years after the events of the 2019 film Joker. Joaquin’s character Arthur Fleck is now a patient at Arkham State Hospital. He falls in love with music therapist Lee played by Gaga. It is the follow-up to the Joker film which was released in 2019. Joker was a huge hit of its time and the sixth-highest-grossing film of the year. It also won an Oscar for Joaquin for Best Actor. The film also won for Original Score for Hildur Guðnadóttir. 

Watch Joker 2 trailer here:

Joker 2 also stars Brendan Gleeson, Catherine Keener and Zazie Beetz, and is set to premiere in theatres on October 4.