Lady Gaga and Joaquin Phoenix's “Joker: Folie à Deux” Gets R Rating for Violence, 'Brief Full Nudity' and More

The first 'Joker,' which debuted in 2019, became the highest-grossing R-rated movie of all time

The Joker sequel starring Lady Gaga and Joaquin Phoenix scored an R rating ahead of its October release date.

The Motion Picture Association officially labeled Joker: Folie à Deux, directed by Todd Phillips, rated R for "some strong violence, language throughout, some sexuality, and brief full nudity."

To compare, 2019's Joker, which won Phoenix a Best Actor Oscar for his titular role, was rated R for "strong bloody violence, disturbing behavior, language and brief sexual images." That film went on to become the highest-grossing R-rated movie globally of all time.

Phillips, who is also behind the Hangover films, told the Los Angeles Times in 2019 that he had to convince the studio that his vision for a gritty, R-rated movie about the Batman villain was the way to go.

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"It was a yearlong process from when we finished the script just to get the new people on board with this vision, because I pitched it to an entirely different team than made it," he said at the time.

“There were emails about: ‘You realize we sell Joker pajamas at Target?’ There were a zillion hurdles, and you just sort of had to navigate those one at a time."

Related: Ryan Reynolds Argues Why 'Lion King', 'Snow White' and More Should Be Rated R as 'Deadpool' Joins Disney+

"At the time, I would curse them in my head every day. But then I have to put it in perspective and go, ‘They’re pretty bold that they did this,' " added Phillips.

On Tuesday, Gaga shared a new poster for the musical sequel, in which she plays Harley Quinn, and teased that the first trailer debuts on Tuesday, April 9.

Joker: Folie á Deux is out Oct. 4.

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