Get ready, because Joker: Folie à Deux is coming this year as part of the 2024 movie schedule – and this is what we know so far about it.
When 2019’s Joker came out, the world was thrown into a tailspin at the iconic portrayal that Joaquin Phoenix brought to the DC character, painting a moving picture of many elements of society. It captured the eyes of audiences and did fantastically well at the box office, and won Phoenix the Academy Award for Best Actor.
So, of course, a sequel was called for, and now we know enough to talk about the next Joker film. Here is what we know so far about the upcoming film.
What Is The Joker: Folie A Deux Release Date?
Joker: Folie à Deux is set to come out October 4, 2024.
The sequel to Joker will be titled Joker: Folie à Deux. You might be wondering what that means. According to the National Library of Medicine, Folie à Deux means that two people share a psychotic disorder together, basically where two individuals share a similar mental disorder.
The Joker: Folie A Deux Cast
If you were wondering who would be coming back for this new film, or who is new, the cast for Joker: Folie a Deux is impressive. Here is who we know for sure will be there:
Joaquin Phoenix as Arthur Fleck
It wouldn't really be a sequel to Joker if the man himself wasn’t returning, and thankfully, we don’t need to deal with another person taking on the mantle of the famous villain, as Joaquin Phoenix is confirmed to return as Arthur Fleck.
Phoenix ended up garnering critical acclaim for his portrayal of Fleck, earning him several awards, including an Academy Award, so it makes sense that he would return.
Lady Gaga as Harleen Quinzel
Another person that we can all expect to star in the sequel is Lady Gaga. When the news was first circulating that Lady Gaga might be hopping onto Joker: Folie à Deux to star opposite Phoenix, I was eager to see who she would play, but now we at least have confirmation that Lady Gaga is going to star in Joker: Folie à Deux alongside Phoenix, according to the Variety article from before.
Revealed in the trailer for the film, we really get our first look at Lady Gaga as Harleen Quinzel, a fellow mental hospital patient at Arkham Asylum that grows a connection with Arthur – and might be just as disturbed as he is.
Lady Gaga has had plenty of mind-bending roles in her time as an actress, like her starring roles on the Ryan Murphy-created American Horror Story series, so seeing her step into the shoes of a character like Harley Quinn is going to be exciting.
The director of the film even commented on Gaga’s portrayal of Harley in an interview with Empire in July 2024, saying that this version of the character is really ‘Gaga’s own interpretation’ as well as his that makes her different:
While there are some things that people would find familiar in her, it’s really Gaga’s own interpretation, and Scott [Silver, co-writer] and I’s interpretation. She became the way how [Charles] Manson had girls that idolized him. The way that sometimes these [imprisoned murderers] have people that look up to them…there are things about Harley in the movie that were taken from the comic books, but we took it and molded it to the way we wanted it to be.
This just makes me more excited to see Lady Gaga freaking kill it in this role.
Zazie Beetz as Sophie
Someone that you might remember from the first film is coming back for the second– Zazie Beetz, as reported by Deadline, back in August 2022. Beetz is known for plenty of roles, including her starring role in Atlanta as well as Deadpool 2, but it’ll be awesome to see her in the Joker universe once again.
Zazie Beetz even had the opportunity to talk about the upcoming film to Variety in June 2023, saying that she believes it won’t be what fans “expect” of the film:
I think people will be surprised. I don't think it's going to be what they expect, around it being musical. We all sort of express musically and dancing in our lives day-to-day. I think it's going to work really well.
Additional Cast Members for Joker: Folie à Deux
Confirmed on the official Joker: Folie a Deux website, Brendan Gleeson will have a role as part of the cast, as well as Catherine Keener.
Also cast, according to The Hollywood Reporter, is Jacob Lofland, whose character is unnamed so far, but it is apparently a “key Arkham Asylum role.” Which, if you can remember, is where Arthur is institutionalized at the end of Joker.
Harry Lawtey is also set to join the ensemble, according to Deadline. His role is also unknown as of March 2023, but Deadline also reported that the role is also going to be a “big one.”
Something else that’s been teased is that Harvey Dent could appear in Joker: Folie à Deux. According to leaked set photos (via ScreenRant), there are signs that look to be in the movie that say, “Dent is a Clown,” which would be in reference to the famous Batman villain, Harvey Dent, otherwise known as Two-Face. Whether or not Dent actually appears in the movie isn’t confirmed yet, but it’s something to theorize for now.
Joaquin Phoenix And Lady Gaga Shine In The Official Trailer For Joker: Folie à Deux
After years of waiting, we finally have the official trailer to watch for Joker: Folie à Deux. It feels like we’ve been waiting a century but already, it’s here, and it’s just as insane as you think it might be. We see both Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga deep in their roles of Arthur and Harley, meeting in a mental asylum, and how they find solace in each other in this big world – while also dancing the night away and truly becoming the baddies we all know they’re going to be.
What Is Joker: Folie A Deux About?
From the film’s official website and the above trailer, we know that Joker: Folie a Deux will follow Arthur, who is now institutionalized in Arkham Asylum, and while there, he meets Harleen Quinzeel (Harley Quinn), who shows him love – and most likely chaos in the best way.
We already knew for a while at Arkham would be a big part of the story, thanks to a report from The Hollywood Reporter that Harry Lawtey’s character was set to have a big role as part of the mental asylum. So it’s not too surprising to see that the main story will most likely begin there.
The Joker Sequel Will Have “Musical Aspects”
I don’t think this was something anyone saw coming, but somehow, I can see it working. Originally confirmed in the Variety article regarding Lady Gaga’s casting, this upcoming sequel is set to be a musical. However, in an interview with Laurence Sher with Eyes Wise in February 2024, he confirmed that the movie has more “musical aspects” than being an actual musical:
It’s got some music. It’s not a musical per say. But it just has music in it, that's all. Music is a part of the movie and the characters, but I don’t know if it's a musical. But there’s a lot of music in the first Joker as well.
In fact, the director, Todd Phillips, even opened up at CinemaCon in April 2024 (via Entertainment Weekly) about the musical aspects and why it happened, and why they decided to add it in for the sequel:
We never really talked about it like that, but I like to say it's a film where music is an essential element. To me, that doesn't veer too far from the first film. Arthur [Fleck]'s weird and aloof and all these things, but he has music in him. He has a grace to him. That informed a lot of the dancing in the first film... it didn't feel like that big of a step here. It's different, but I think it'll make sense when you see it.
Phoenix even commented in an interview from Empire in July 2024 that he recalled Gaga “spitting up coffee” when she heard him sing for the first time, so that made him feel “good.” Which only makes me more excited to see these two work together.
Todd Philips Returned To The Director’s Chair
As mentioned before, it’s been confirmed that the original director of Joker, Todd Philips, returned to the director’s chair for Joker 2.
Philips was also nominated for Best Director for the original Joker, so it’s great to see him return to the sequel and I can’t wait to see how he turns this into a musical. It’s going to be something different, that is for sure.
Joker: Folie à Deux Will Not Be Directly In James Gunn’s DC’ Universe
It’s been a pretty hot topic of discussion whether these new movies like Joker: Folie à Deux or the upcoming The Batman sequel are going to be set within the new DC universe that James Gunn is building. But the answer to that is a resounding no.
In a Twitter video that Gunn put up on his page, his confirmed that both the Joker films and The Batman films that star Robert Pattinson take place in a world called the ‘DC Elseworlds,’ where these films can reside and stay in while the main DC universe films – the ones that Gunn is working on personally like Superman: Legacy – will remain in his universe so other stories get to shine somewhere else:
The bar for an Elseworlds tale is going to be higher than the bar for a movie within the DCU. Not that we’re not always going to have a high bar, but it’s got to be something really special for us to tell that story outside of our regular continuity and to spend the money to make it.
So don’t expect to see this version of the Joker tangle with the new Batman anytime soon.
Joker: Folie A Deux Is Rated R
According to Variety in April 2024, Joker: Folie à Deux will be Rated R. It would be pretty shocking to see it shift to PG-13, but of course, the next movie will be for adults only. Better for a date night rather than a family movie night.
What are you the most excited for in terms of Joker: Folie à Deux? I’m sure that whatever comes to theaters on October 4, 2024, we are all going to be blown away, and I can’t wait to see the Joker and Harley Quinn back on screen in live-action form.
