Fans of Batman movies have a lot to look forward to in the next few years, because along with The Batman: Part II slated for late 2025, The Brave and the Bold will introduce its own Bruce Wayne, and his son Damian, into the new DC Universe. Additionally, there’s also Joker 2, a.k.a. Joker: Folie à Deux, on the way from a different corner of the DC multiverse, which will reunite audiences with the Arthur Fleck version of Gotham City’s Clown Prince of Crime and introduce Lady Gaga’s version of Harley Quinn. With filming having wrapped on the sequel, director Todd Phillips has celebrated the milestone with new pics of his two leading actors.
Joker 2 began principal photography in December 2022, six months after Todd Phillips confirmed that the sequel is moving forward. By February, we got our first official look at Lady Gaga opposite Joaquin Phoenix in the sequel, and now there are two more pictures of them, albeit separate from one another, to take in thanks to the below post from Phillips’ Instagram page:
In Photo #1, we have Lady Gaga’s Harleen Quinzel having donned the same kind of clown look that Arthur Fleck adopted in the first movie, thus presenting her transformation into the equally mirth-obsessed Harley Quinn. Then in Photo #2, Joaquin Phoenix is wearing the same kind of suit Arthur put on when he went full Joker the first time around, though it looks like he’s in some kind of prison transport judging by the caging over the windows. So now the public has a few more official peeks into Joker 2, while Todd Phillips will now begin the process of stitching the footage from the upcoming movie together.
Although specific story details for Joker 2 are being kept close to the vest, it will deliver its own take on Harleen Quinzel falling in love with Joker while he’s being kept at Arkham Asylum. Arguably the biggest way the sequel will stand out from its predecessor is by being a musical, which was reportedly one of the factors that led to the budget being nearly tripled from what the first movie received. Speaking of tunes, a leaked set video from a few days ago may have revealed that Gaga’s Harley will belt out a song once sung by The Wizard of Oz’s Judy Garland.
Lady Gaga will be the second actress to play Harley Quinn in a live-action film following Margot Robbie’s outings as the character in the DCEU, and Joker 2 marks the actress’ third time leading a movie following 2018’s A Star is Born and 2021’s House of Gucci. The sequel is also bringing back Zazie Beetz as Sophie Dumond, who was Arthur’s neighbor before his descent into madness, and Joker 2’s cast also includes Brendan Gleeson, Catherine Keener, Jacob Lofland and Harry Lawtey in undisclosed roles. As with the first movie, Todd Phillips co-wrote the script with Scott Silver.
Joker 2 arrives in theaters on October 4, 2024, so Todd Phillips has plenty of time to focus on the editing process. HBO Max subscribers can stream Joker now, but those of you done reading this story should check our CinemaBlend’s coverage of other upcoming DC movies.
