Written By Mikey Sutton • Editor-in-Chief • Owner
Joker: Folie a Deux set photos show Joaquin Phoenix in make-up. As face await the sequel, they search for any information or photos they can find. However, Phoenix may not be what excites them the most.
After all, Lady Gaga debuts as Harley Quinn in Joker: Folie a Deux. For those unaware, Gaga does not replace Margot Robbie as the Joker’s girlfriend. Robbie played Quinn in three theatrical films: Suicide Squad; Birds of Prey; and James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad. However, those movies were set in the now-rebooted DCEU.
The Joker franchise, on the other hand, exists within DC Studios’ Elseworlds label. In other words, they take place on a disconnected parallel world. Thus, Gaga’s Quinn won’t ever meet the new actors in Gunn’s still-cooking DCU.
Insiders expect Robbie to return as Quinn in Gunn’s new world. That is, unless he hasn’t changed his mind. In any case, Robbie expressed her approval for Gaga’s casting. In a recent interview, she revealed:
“It makes me so happy because I said from the very beginning that 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. Someone gets to do their Batman, or someone gets to do their Macbeth.”
Joker 2 Behind The Scenes Photo Shows Joaquin Phoenix In Make-Up
Image: Warner Bros. Discovery
The Elseworlds aspect to Joker: Folie a Deux offers a distinct alternative to Gunn’s controversial vision for the DCU. Gunn irked a large segment of DC followers with his vastly unpopular decision to yank Henry Cavill as Superman. Worse yet, this was right after Cavill officially announced his return as the Man of Steel.
In addition, Ben Affleck won’t be Batman anymore even though he reprises the role in The Flash movie. Moreover, the new DC Studios likely cut Affleck from Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom.
Certainly, everything on Gunn’s slate remains years away. Without a doubt, there could be quality entertainment in there. For example, if Logan‘s James Mangold directs Swamp Thing, that should be a hot ticket. But the rest of Gunn’s slate thus far underwhelms. Although comic-book collectors are partying with the soaring price tags on their speculated back issues, I doubt that’ll last long.
After all, once any of these movies bomb, there goes the inflated values of those comics. From what I’ve seen, the majority of the excitement for Gunn’s ideas are with comics dealers. I’m sure they love clearing the dollar bins with their Creature Commandos appearances.
Elseworlds fills the same void that Vertigo Comics did for mainstream DC in the early ’90s. Like Vertigo Comics, Elseworlds functions as the DCU’s more adult, disconnected sibling. Anything can happen. If there’s any possibility of Zack Snyder doing DC work with Warner Bros. Discovery now, Elseworlds is key.
Joker director Todd Phillips actually brought the idea to the previous Warner Bros. regime in 2019. He explained:
“When I pitched them ‘Joker,’ it wasn’t a movie, it was, let’s do a whole label,” Phillips said in 2019. “They shut that down quickly and I get it. Who am I to walk in and start a label at a film studio? But they said, let’s do this one.”
Phillips once expressed skepticism towards Joker: Folie a Deux. He admitted:
“Here’s the real truth about a sequel. While Joaquin and I have talked about it, and while touring the world with Warner Bros executives — going to Toronto, and Venice, and other places — of course, we’re sitting at dinner and they’re saying, ‘So, have you thought about…?’ But, talking about contracts, there’s not a contract for us to even write a sequel, we’ve never approached Joaquin to be in a sequel. Will that happen?”
Joker 2 Behind The Scenes Photo Shows Joaquin Phoenix In Make-Up
BREAKING: New look at Joaquin Phoenix's Joker! pic.twitter.com/XLQ4F5RPGq
— Home of DCU (@homeofdcu) March 4, 2023
Now it’s in the midst of filming.
At first, I thought it’d be a mistake to have musical sequences in Joker: Folie a Deux. Then again, it’s a smart move to utilize all of Gaga’s talents.
Joker: Folie a Deux could turn into a film of deranged brilliance like its predecessor.