The writer and director Todd Phillips has recently revealed the title of the upcoming Joker sequel, Joker: Folie a Deux. And just a week after, Lady Gaga joined the cast as the iconic Harley Quinn. Gaga is reportedly in early talks to play the DC Comics character, according to The Hollywood Reporter, which also reveals the project is being developed as a musical.
Previously, Margot Robbie has played Harley Quinn in 2016’s Suicide Squad, 2020’s Birds of Prey and 2021’s The Suicide Squad, though this version of Harley Quinn in Joker: Folie a Deux is said to exist in a different DC universe than Robbie’s Harley Quinn, as per the outlet. However, the original 2019 Joker was never intended to have a sequel, but its critical and commercial success led director Todd Phillips interested in making a sequel. Phillips signed on to direct and co-write the script with his original Joker writing partner Scott Silver in May 2021.
Last week, Phillips shared a photo of the Joker: Folie a Deux script cover, revealing that the script draft was completed on May 18. He also shared another photo of Phoenix reading the script while smoking a cigarette. However, The Hollywood Reporter has recently clarified that Warner Bros. has not yet finalized a deal with Phoenix, though they are both ‘deep’ in negotiations. The title Folie a Deux is a medical term that is, ‘an identical or similar mental disorder affecting two or more individuals, usually the members of a close family.’
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The 2019 R-rated Joker movie was a huge hit at the box office, which earned $335.4 million domestic and $1.074 billion worldwide from a meagre $55 million budget. The Harley Quinn character was first introduced by Paul Dini and Bruce Timm in 1992 for Batman: The Animated Series. While she was only intended to appear in one episode as comedic relief, she became a recurring character and ultimately the Joker’s assistant and love interest.
Harley Quinn was introduced into the DC Comics universe in 1999 as the Joker’s love and partner in crime, and also a good friend of supervillain Poison Ivy. While this will be the first time Gaga has starred in the movie directed by Phillips, the filmmaker did serve as a producer on her debut 2018 film A Star Is Born. The songstress recently got a nomination for Oscars for playing Patrizia Reggiani in last year’s House of Gucci. Gaga has also recently written the song ‘Hold My Hand’ for the current box office hit Tom Cruise starring film Top Gun: Maverick.