Big news regarding the Joker sequel Todd Phillips teased last week: According to The Hollywood Reporter, Joker 2 is going to be a musical, and Lady Gaga is in talks to join Joaquin Phoenix as Harley Quinn.
While the report doesn’t say much about what a musical Joker would look like, it does make sense to cast the singer in such a project. THR says that neither Gaga nor Phoenix have been completely secured for the sequel, which, according to the script cover Phillips posted to Instagram, is called Joker: Folie à Deux. The French title translates to “shared madness,” which tipped us off to Harley Quinn’s appearance in the sequel. Now we’ll just have to wait to see how the pair’s “Bad Romance” fares on screen (sorry).
Prior to Gaga, Margot Robbie played Harley Quinn in multiple DC films, including both Suicide Squad pictures and the Cathy Yan-directed film Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn). But at this point it’s not uncommon for multiple actors to play the same role in DC adaptations — see, as just one example, the upcoming The Flash.
There’s been no word regarding a standalone Harley Quinn film since the release of Birds of Prey, though Robbie did tell TotalFilm during a set visit for The Suicide Squad that “Something I noticed about Harley from the start is she’s always going to have more fun when she’s in a group dynamic… [When she’s] in a group you’re always going to see the most come out of her personality because she’s got people to play with and pick apart or fall in love with or backstab or whatever.”
2019’s Joker became the most profitable comic book movie of all time, prompting Warner Bros. to reportedly offer Phoenix $50 million to reprise his Academy Award-winning role in two more films. The actor most recently starred in Mike Mills’ drama C’mon C’mon, and will next be seen in Ari Aster’s upcoming drama Disappointment Blvd, as well as Ridley Scott’s “original and personal” take on Napoleon Bonaparte.
As for Gaga, the House of Gucci star will soon return to the stage for her “Chromatica Ball” Tour. Revisit the musician-turned-actress’ most essential songs here, and grab tickets to her upcoming shows via Ticketmaster.
