Director Todd Phillips has confirmed that filming has concluded on Joker: Folie à Deux, the sequel to 2019’s Oscar-winning villain origin story Joker. Here’s everything you need to know about 2024’s most anticipated film.
2019’s Joker infamously won the main prize, the Golden Lion, at the Venice Film Festival, instantly making it the most eagerly anticipated title of the year. A superhero (well, villain technically) film, directed by the guy responsible for The Hangover trilogy, starring Joaquin Phoenix as the villain character that earned the late, great Heath Ledger a posthumous Oscar, was actually… great?
While Joker went on to become a massive success and mostly critically adored, the film also developed a distinctly toxic aura as anyone who expressed anything other than overwhelmingly positive reactions and opinions about the film was mercilessly bullied and harassed online.
Joker earned Phoenix an Oscar, so of course, a sequel was quickly greenlit and rushed into production.
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Director Todd Phillips has confirmed that filming on Joker: Folie à Deux has wrapped, so we’ve compiled a handy guide for all your Joker-y needs. Here’s everything you need to know about Joker: Folie à Deux.
When is Joker: Folie à Deux out?
Joker: Folie à Deux is scheduled to be released on 4 October 2024. We are still over a year from the release, but there are plenty of set photos and videos to keep your cravings under control.
What’s Joker: Folie à Deux about?
Honestly, we don’t know. At the end of Joker, Arthur Fleck (aka Joker) was locked up in Arkham Asylum for his crimes. The final scene in Joker showed Arthur laughing maniacally but refusing to share what was so funny with a therapist.
We can only imagine it didn’t end well for the poor therapist as the film’s final shot showed Arthur’s bloody footprints as he was being chased by an orderly.
Joaquin Phoenix in Joker. Credit: Warner Bros.
Our best guess is that Arthur will eventually break free from the asylum and wreak havoc on the streets of Gotham once again. We also expect that Arthur will encounter a certain Dr Harleen Quinzel while locked up, presumably turning her into Harley Quinn, but more on that later.
Is Joker: Folie à Deux based on a comic book?
No. Well, not really. While Joker is a well-known, iconic villain in DC Comics, Joker was a completely original narrative.
Joker: Folie à Deux will follow suit. Phillips and Scott Silver wrote the script. While it’s expected that Folie à Deux will follow along the broad lines of Harleen and Joker’s love story, the film is technically wholly original. It won’t be adopting any previous comic-book narratives.
Who’s in Joker: Folie à Deux?
Joaquin Phoenix will reprise his acclaimed role as Arthur Fleck. Zazie Beetz will return as Sophie, Arthur’s former neighbour and love interest. In Joker, it was revealed that Arthur had fallen in love with Sophie but had imagined an entire relationship, which never happened.
Credit: Warner Bros.
Lady Gaga joins the cast as Harleen Quinzel. Gaga was Oscar-nominated for her performance in Bradley Cooper’s breathtaking A Star Is Born, and her performance in Ridley Scott’s House of Gucci was also acclaimed.
Additionally, Brendan Gleeson, Catherine Keener, Jacob Lofland and Harry Lawtey have been cast in the film, but their roles have not been revealed.
Who is Dr. Harleen Quinzel?
We will give you a short answer to this one because we don’t know what route Silver and Phillips are going with for the character. While several versions of Harley Quinn exist, a 1994 one-shot comic story detailed her origin as Dr Harleen Quinzel. She was a psychiatrist doing an internship at Arkham Asylum, where she fell in love with Joker, who then turned her into Harley Quinn.
She has donned several outfits in the comics over the years and has been portrayed by Margot Robbie across several DCEU films. From the set photos, it looks like Lady Gaga’s wardrobe will pay tribute to Harley Quinn’s looks while retaining a more realistic look for the character.
Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn in David Ayer’s Suicide Squad. Credit: Warner Bros.
What does Folie à Deux mean?
Also referred to as “folly of two”, Folie à Deux is used to speak of a shared delusion or mental illness between two people.
We can only assume this is about the bond Arthur forms with Harleen as the two find each other and fall deeply in love and go insane together.
Is Joker: Folie à Deux a musical?
Yes! This one has divided the fanbase in half, with one-half seemingly thinking this is the worst imaginable development for the sequel, while others find this an inspired creative choice.
The first film included several scenes of Arthur dancing euphorically, so Joker: Folie à Deux being a musical doesn’t seem that crazy, especially as Lady Gaga is involved. Musical numbers often represent a sense of utopia in films; they’re not real, but they’re a form of liberation, a way of expressing something the characters might otherwise struggle to put into words.
Unlike Greta Gerwig’s Barbie, which also looks like it has a musical number or two up its sleeve, Joker: Folie à Deux might complicate our understanding of musicals and musical numbers if the film follows the first film’s themes of violence.
All in all, Joker: Folie à Deux looks like it will be 2024’s most anticipated and intriguing release.
