Joker: Folie à Deux spoilers follow.
Joker: Folie à Deux director Todd Phillips has explained why he cut a same-sex kiss scene involving Lady Gaga.
The Harleen ‘Lee’ Quinzel star was spotted during the film’s production embracing a woman in the crowd outside the courthouse, though the moment didn’t make it into the final edit.
Opening up about the decision, Phillips said that it would’ve “got in the way of the moment” they were trying to show, where Lee goes to support Arthur and does a song and dance number up the stairs.
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"It had dialogue in it, and, all of a sudden, I wanted it to be more of a music and vibe moment," he told Entertainment Weekly.
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"For that moment to have played, it needed dialogue behind it. Meaning, the woman said something, and then Gaga stopped and did this thing, and it just kind of got in the way of the moment."
Phillips also said that the kiss moment was improvised by Gaga.
Fans have also noted that the final movie doesn’t include a trailer moment showing Joker and Lee dancing on the stairs, though Phillips is yet to address this.
Related: Joker: Folie à Deux credit scenes: How many are there?
Following its release last week, the Joker sequel has set an unwanted box office record, earning the lowest grade for a comic book movie ever on CinemaScore with a D. The movie has also opened to $40 million in the US, as well as $81 million internationally.
In other news, Phillips recently ruled out the idea of a third Joker movie or a Harley Quinn spin-off with Gaga.
"It's not really where this movie is headed for me," he told The Hollywood Reporter. "I feel like my time in the DC Universe was these two films."
Joker: Folie à Deux is out now in cinemas. Joker is available to buy on Blu-ray or streaming now.
Read more Joker news on our dedicated homepage
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Sam is a freelance reporter and sub-editor who has a particular interest in movies, TV and music. After completing a journalism Masters at City University, London, Sam joined Digital Spy as a reporter, and has also freelanced for publications such as NME and Screen International. Sam, who also has a degree in Film, can wax lyrical about everything from Lord of the Rings to Love Is Blind, and is equally in his element crossing every 't' and dotting every 'i' as a sub-editor.
