By Zack Sharf
Digital News Director
“Joker: Folie à Deux” director Todd Phillips marked Valentine’s Day 2024 with a special new look at his highly-anticipated sequel, which pairs returning Oscar winner Joaquin Phoenix with Lady Gaga as Harleen Quinzel / Harley Quinn. Phillips added as the caption to the post: “Hoping your day is full of love.”
Specific plot details for the second “Joker” film are not yet known, although it’s been described as a drama with musical elements set in and around Arkham Asylum. The supporting cast includes returning “Joker” star Zazie Beetz opposite franchise newcomers Brendan Gleeson, Catherine Keener, Jacob Lofland and Harry Lawtey.
The original “Joker” opened to much controversy and fanfare in 2019 and grossed over $1 billion worldwide to become the highest-grossing R-rated release in box office history. The film also earned 11 Oscar nominations, including best picture, and won Phoenix the best actor prize. The new film marks the only DC comic book tentpole releasing in 2024, and box office expectations are sky high thanks to the first film’s success and the added star power of icon Lady Gaga.
Margot Robbie, who was the first actor to bring Harley Quinn to life on the big screen in live-action via movies like “Suicide Squad” and “Birds of Prey,” previously expressed support for Gaga taking over the comic book icon. She doubled down on her Gaga support in a Variety cover story published last month.
“I always wanted Harley to be a character that would get passed on to other actresses to play, the way there are so many iconic male characters,” Robbie said. “That was always the dream for her. Harley’s so fun and can go in so many different directions. You put her in someone else’s hands, and it’s like, ‘What are they going to do with her?’ The options are endless.”
Lawrence Sher, the Oscar-nominated cinematographer for “Joker” who returned to shoot the sequel, revealed on “The Trenches Talk” podcast last year that he “never even met” Lady Gaga on the set because she was presumably in character the whole time. Sher said it wasn’t until he started calling Gaga by the name “Lee” (presumably a nod to Harley) that she even warmed up to him.
“I didn’t know Stefani at all,” Sher said referring to Gaga’s real name, Stefani Germanotta. “Strangely, I felt like I never even met her, even during the makeup/hair tests. Maybe it was my philosophy of not trying to get in their space. And then I remember for a week, being like, ‘God, I feel like we are disconnecting. Not even connecting. We are, like, on opposites.’ And I would say to my crew, ‘Jesus, I can’t crack it. She either hates me or we hate each other. There’s something weird going on here.’”
“I barely said anything, except I would say, ‘Stefani, this is where your second team was,’ minor little things, and then the AD at one point said, ‘Oh you know, Stef would like if you just called her Lee on set,’” Sher continued, “And I was like, 100 percent. The next thing I said was something ‘Lee,’ and it was like everything changed. From that point on, it was like she was…our whole connection changed. I was like, alright, cool.”
“Joker: Folie à Deux” is set to open in theaters on Oct. 4 from Warner Bros. Check out the latest photos below.
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