A new report claimed that Joker: Folie à Deux director Todd Phillips refused to work with DC Studios during the film's production.
Since its release, the sequel has been slammed by fans and critics, and its opening weekend box office was a massive disappointment compared to the first film. It also has the lowest CinemaScore ever for a comic book movie.
Despite featuring the most iconic villain in the DC library, fans took notice that James Gunn and Peter Safran's DC Studios is absent in the credits and there have been speculations on the level of involvement that they might had.
Todd Phillips Reportedly Refused to Work with DC While Filming Joker: Folie à Deux
A recent report that explored the behind-the-scenes of Joker: Folie à Deux in the aftermath of its box office misfire claimed that Phillips refused to work with DC Studios during filming.
According to a source cited, the filmmaker "wanted nothing to do with DC" and he did not have oversight at all from Gunn and Safran despite the film's focus on one of DC's top characters.
When Gunn and Safran started their tenure as the chairmen of DC Studios months before the film started production, there were expectations that they might weigh in on the script and provide feedback.
However, that did not happen as Phillips allegedly balked and only liaised with Warner Bros. Pictures chairperson Michael De Luca and Pam Abdy.
Despite that, Gunn and Safran were still present during the first director’s cut screening for the studio.
Phillips commented on DC Studios' involvement in Joker: Folie à Deux in a recent Q&A interview where he was adamant that they did not weigh in on the project at all.
"With all due respect to [Gunn and Safran], this is kind of a Warner Brothers movie, and that's them also wanting it to be like, 'Okay, Todd did his thing. Let Todd continue to do his thing,'" he said.
This might answer some of the fans' questions regarding DC Studios' involvement as it looks like Phillips avoided them at all cost despite using an iconic character from the brand.
It is hard to say whether the film might have been better if DC Studios had been involved in the process in some capacity, but some fans have found their lack of participation to be jarring, especially now that they have seen the results.
Joker: Folie à Deux is showing in theaters everywhere.
What do you think of the report? Let us know in the comments!
Make sure you follow our DC Facebook Page for the latest DC news and trends!