One of the most famous movie villains in cinematic history returns: With the drama "Joker" Warner Bros. recorded a huge success in 2019, which also thrilled audiences beyond the superhero genre. Now, the long awaited sequel "Joker 2: Folie à Deux" finally hits the cinemas on October 3, 2024, where we wil be finally presented with the interaction of Arthur Fleck and his lover Harley Quinn. In this video you get all the latest information about the upcoming sequel!

"Joker 2" is likely to be one of next year's blockbusters. The untypical production of the cult figure already convinced viewers and critics in the previous movie and made it the most successful R-rated film of all times with worldwide box office takings of over 1 billion dollars. Originally, the Todd Phillips-directed character study was intended as a single work and should not have received a sequel. However, ultimately the success and positive feedback led to the decision to continue the story. Having said that, the movie is said to be clearly different from the previous film and will hopefully break new ground.

The story of Joker 2

It is already known that "Joker 2" will take place in the high-security prison Arkham Asylum to a large extent. This was designed by its founder Amadeus Arkham as a treatment center for the mentally ill and houses a number of unusual criminals. The first "Joker" movie finished with Arthur ending up in this very asylum.

From here, obvious storylines from the comics could be picked up in "Joker 2." The story that is most likely refers to the graphic novel "Mad Love", in which the Joker first meets Harley Quinn and models her into his lover. This is the story of Dr. Harleen Quinzel, who works as a psychiatrist at Arkham Asylum and is supposed to treat the Joker. Due to her own traumatic past, Harleen quickly sees the Joker as a role model and is attracted to him. The Joker takes advantage of this for himself: Both start a relationship and together they escape from the prison. Harley increasingly goes insane herself and becomes more and more entangled in the relationship with the dangerous clown.

Harley's well-known origin story is also reflected in the film's title: "Folie à deux" which translates as "madness for two" and is an expression for a psychotic disorder in which close people develop the same delusional ideas.

Joker 2 Cast

Of course, the main role of Arthur Fleck alias Joker is again portrayed by Joaquin Phoenix - who even won an Oscar for best male lead actor for the last movie. The role of Harley Quinn will be performed by none other than Lady Gaga herself. We can certainly expect a significantly different version of the figure than the one of Margot Robbie in the previous DC films.

In addition to the two main actors, several other well-known names have already been confirmed for the cast. For instance, we will see "Harry Potter" star and character actor Brendan Gleeson. "Get Out" actress Catherine Keener is also part of the cast, as well as "Maze Runner" actor Jacob Lofland and Harry Lawtey, who has so far been seen mainly in TV shows. Zazie Beets returns for Part 2 as Arthur's former neighbor Sophie. We're curious to see if she primarily plays a role in the Joker's imagination, as she did in the first movie - or if he might actually pay her a visit after breaking out of the Asylum.

Production

Like its forerunner, "Joker 2" is part of the so-called DC Elseworlds. These are films and series that have no direct reference to the DCU. That is why DC characters are embodied by other actors than in the official main series here. In addition to the two "Joker" films, these DC Elseworlds also include "The Batman" films by Matt Reeves and the upcoming sequel "Constantine 2".

Todd Phillips will once again take a seat in the director's chair and oversee the project - Peter Safran and James Gunn will be the producers. As in Part 1, the music will be composed by Icelandic composer Hildur Guðnadóttir. In an interview with ComicBook.com, she commented on the film and revealed that there would be a lot of music in it. With this comment, she picked up on the controversial news that there will be various musical passages in the second "Joker" movie. This news aroused resentment among many fans, as one does not necessarily associate the serious and down-to-earth drama with typical Hollywood musical films. We are more than curious to see how this will actually be implemented in the film in the end - typical Disney scenes in which the Joker sings about his feelings are probably not to be expected.

At the beginning of April 2023, director Todd Phillips announced that filming had been completed. He finalized this with the words "That`s a wrap" on his Instragram channel and also posted two new pictures of his main characters. Already while filming, photos repeatedly reached the public, on which Lady Gaga could be seen as Harley Quinn. Furthermore, a video made the rounds in which she kissed an enraged woman on the mouth, dressed as Harley. Now that the film is officially in post-production, it shouldn't be too long before we are presented with more images or a first teaser trailer.

Start date of Joker 2

According to current information, the theatrical release of "Joker 2: Folie à deux" is still scheduled for October 3, 2024. Since the film has already been shot, the actors' and writers' strike that is currently taking place should not cause any major problems here.