New details have been unveiled about the highly-anticipated comeback of Joker and Harley Quinn to the big screen in “Joker: Folie à Deux”.
Phoenix is reprising the role of the Joker that he gave life to in the 2019 movie and Lady Gaga is joining the sequel as Harley Quinn.
Insiders privy to filming and early versions of Todd Phillips’ sequel to the movie leans heavily towards being “mostly a jukebox musical,” as it integrates at least 15 reinterpretations of “very well-known” songs.
One is said to be “That’s Entertainment” from the 1953 musical “The Band Wagon,” famously associated with Judy Garland. However, there is a door open for an original song (or two) to be added to the final version.
Details regarding who would pen the tracks, or sing the numbers are unknown, but according to sources, Hildur Guðnadóttir, the Oscar-winning composer of the first “Joker” film, is said to “infuse her distinctive, haunting [music] cues” into each number. Warner Bros declined to comment.
Jukebox musicals, known for featuring popular songs, often achieve box-office success. Examples include “Mamma Mia!” and “Moulin Rouge!,” the latter receiving eight Oscar nominations. “Joker 2” is expected to break the mold of traditional musicals.
"Joker: Folie à Deux" is part of DC Elseworlds and is not part of the universe that Peter Safran and James Gunn have been building since taking the helm of DC Studios.
Gaga is taking on the role of Harley Quinn, which had been portrayed by Margot Robbie in movies like "Suicide Squad" (2016), "Birds of Prey" (2020), and "The Suicide Squad" (2021). Robbie expressed her happiness that the Harley Quinn character will continue to live on.
“It makes me so happy because I said from the very beginning, all I want is for Harley Quinn to be one of those characters, the way like Macbeth or Batman always gets passed from great actor to great actor,” Robbie told MTV News in 2022.
She continued, “It’s such an honor to have built a foundation strong enough that Harley can now be one of those characters that other actors get to have a go at playing. I think she’ll do something incredible with it.”
Specific details about the plot of “Folie à Deux” have not been officially confirmed, but the film is described as a drama with elements taking place in and around Arkham Asylum.
The pic looks to be taking influence from the comic book storyline "Mad Love". This was Harley Quinn’s origin story where she was an Arkham Asylum psychiatrist who fell in love with the Joker.
The sequel also stars Catherine Keener, Brendan Gleeson, and Zazie Beetz. Phillips collaborated on the screenplay with Scott Silver.
"Joker: Folie à Deux" is hitting theaters on October 4.
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