Lady Gaga is the hotly anticipated attraction on the glitzy Lido Wednesday, as the Venice Film Festival hosts the premiere of her new film, the dark and subversive “Joker: Folie a Deux”. The pop sensation’s appearance in Venice could eclipse even that of George Clooney and Brad Pitt, whose red carpet hijinks in front of fans Sunday ahead of the premiere of their film “Wolfs” were a highlight of the prestigious festival.

Subverting the codes of the superhero film, 2019’s “Joker” from US director Todd Phillips saw Joaquin Phoenix as Arthur Fleck, a failed stand-up comic descending into mental illness. The film - loosely based on the DC Comics characters and set in a gritty Gotham City - was wildly successful, grossing $1 billion at the box office but sparking criticism for its nihilistic violence.

After winning the Golden Lion at Venice, it went on to win a Best Actor Oscar for Phoenix. But Lady Gaga is the new star addition in Phillips’ sequel, bringing the US singer back to the big screen after 2021’s “House of Gucci”. She plays the Joker’s partner in crime and love interest, Harley Quinn, whom Fleck meets while awaiting trial for his past crimes. “He’s not sick. He’s perfect,” her character is heard saying in voice-over in a short teaser for the film released this week.

Actress and singer Lady Gaga and US actor Joaquin Phoenix attend the photocall of the movie 'Joker : Folie a deux' .

Phillips has said that for the sequel, he wanted to explore the idea of identity, asking the question “where does the music inside him (Fleck) come from?” “If we were going to do it, we knew we had to swing for the fences; we wanted to create something as crazy and fearless as Joker himself,” Phillips said.

On Wednesday, the “Bad Romance” singer is expected to participate in a press conference with Phoenix and other cast members, before her red-carpet appearance and the film’s world premiere in the evening. “Joker: Folie a Deux” is one of 21 films vying for the top prize, the Golden Lion, at the world’s oldest film festival known as “La Mostra”. This year’s event has been awash in Hollywood pizzazz, with a long roster of A-listers taking a twirl on the red carpet, from Daniel Craig and Angelina Jolie to Nicole Kidman and Michael Keaton. The festival ends on Saturday. — AFP