©Courtesy of Warner Brothers
The Oscar winners play the iconic superhero characters Harley Quinn and the Joker in Todd Phillips‘ Joker: Folie á Deux. Arkham Asylum and its occupants are the focus of the latest sequel, which features psychiatrist Quinn who first appeared in the Batman the Animated Series show.
The first film garnered 11 Oscar nominations and stellar box office. It became the highest-grossing R-rated movie in history.
“Two years ago, the name Arthur Fleck hit Gotham like a hurricane,” a voice says at the beginning of the trailer. Another voice adds, “They believe Arthur Fleck to be some kind of martyr. Well, he’s not. He’s a monster.” We then see Arthur and Harley Quinn’s meet cute, with the latter telling the former, “When I first saw Joker, when I saw you, for once in my life, I didn’t feel so alone anymore.”
The character was first brought to life in live action by Margot Robbie in Suicide Squad, followed by her performances in Birds of Prey and The Suicide Squad. Zazie Beetz, who returned to Joker, and Oscar-nominated Brendan Gleeson from ‘Banshees of Ireland‘, Catherine Keener, Jacob Lofland, breakout Harry Lawtey from ‘Industry’ are among those who will be joining the Joker 2 cast.
Phillips says that Joker 2 has musical elements reminiscent of Francis Ford Coppola’s ‘One From the Heart.’ However, the casting director Francine Maisler said during the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival that Lady Gaga was a surprise casting choice.
“I didn’t suggest Lady Gaga. It wasn’t my idea. That was Todd Phillips, before me,” Maisler said. “But I will tell you, she’s really surprising — and really good. I saw it and I was really surprised.”
Gaga previously told Access Hollywood that her take on the role is an “authentic” understanding of the character.
“You know my version of Harley is mine and it’s very authentic to this movie and these characters,” Gaga said, “I’ve never done anything like I’ve done in this movie before, so it’s all going to be completely brand new and really fun.”
Joker: Folie á Deux premieres October 4 in theaters after debuting at Venice 2024.