Joker 2 Director Explains Why We Won’t See Lady Gaga’s Harley Quinn For A While
Considering how popular Todd Philips Joker movie was, a sequel was always going to be something fans were interested in. The fact that the Joker sequel will apparently be a musical, and will also co-star Lady Gaga, has even more people curious to say the least. The film is currently in production, and we’ve seen an early behind-the-scenes image of Joaquin Phoenix in his return as Arthur Fleck. Fans are waiting to see Lady Gaga as Harley Quinn, but they’ll have to wait a bit longer.
A few days ago Joker: Folie à Deux director Todd Philips posed an image to Instagram of Joaquin Phoenix on day one of production. It seems that many people are already wondering when we’ll get our first look at his new co-star, Lady Gaga, so Philips posted a comment to his own image to let people know that the actress isn’t on set yet, and won’t be until some time next month. Phillips said…
Honestly, seeing Joker 2 go into production this late in December is a bit surprising since we usually see films taking time off for the holidays, just like most other jobs. Whatever work is being done at this point is probably minor and things are likely set to really get underway after the first of the year.
We expect Joker 2 to tell a version of the Joker and Harley Quinn story, where Quinn was a doctor in the asylum where Joker was locked up. Typically working with him drove her to the same delusions that he suffered from, so smart money says the movie will probably see the two of them together. Perhaps the plan is to film what parts of the movie will only include Phoenix’s character now, and then bring in Gaga for the bulk of filming they will do together.
Joker: Folie à Deux will certainly make for an interesting sequel. What set the first Joker apart was the way the film, while based on a comic book character, wasn’t really about that at all. It wasn’t simply an attempt to tell a grounded and realistic version of a Joker origin story, but, it seemed, simply the story of a man losing his mind, or perhaps had already lost his mind, with a familiar aesthetic on top of it.
While an incredibly successful film, making $1 billion at the box office while also taking home Oscars, Joker certainly wasn’t a movie that needed a sequel, but the people behind it think they have a story worthy of going back again. Whatever we see early from production, it will be a while until we see the finished product, as Joker: Folie à Deux won’t hit theaters until October 2024.