Written By Mikey Sutton • Editor-in-Chief • Owner
Joker: Folie à Deux continues to generate excitement with its abundance of photo leaks. The sequel to 2019’s Oscar-winning Joker blew up the Internet with the casting of Lady Gaga as Harley Quinn. Admittedly, I wasn’t among them. In fact, I never felt it needed a follow-up. I doubt I’m alone in that thinking. After all, Joker was a masterful standalone drama.
Joaquin Phoenix’s sympathetic portrayal of Batman’s psychotic villain was one for the ages. In fact, the Academy Awards agreed. Phoenix walked away with their Best Actor trophy. Joker was to comic-book movies what the British New Wave act Joy Division was to rock & roll. Like Joy Division, Joker climbed into the dark recesses of the soul but in an accessible way that reached everyone.
When Joker: Folie à Deux was announced, it felt pointless. The story has been told. Why continue it? Well, Joker earned over $1 billion worldwide. For success-starved DC Films, that was a rare achievement. Awards and a billion dollars? Zachary Levi would go skiing with his DC Studios bosses for a decade to get a taste of that.
When Lady Gaga became Harley Quinn, it didn’t light any sparks with me. Being from an earlier generation, my taste in music steered towards post-punk women such as Siouxsie Sioux and Kate Bush
. Furthermore, I wasn’t familiar with Lady Gaga’s acting. And then rumors circulated that the movie was to be a musical.
Please, no.
Joker 2: Exciting Photo Leaks Show Harley Quinn And Tease Two-Face
— Home of DCU (@homeofdcu) March 25, 2023
But apparently the musical sequences will be part of the characters’ deranged minds. That sounded inventive and different from the original. Suddenly, I wanted to watch this movie. After seeing set pictures of Lady Gaga as Harley Quinn, I’m totally in.
Release it now, man.
First of all, Lady Gaga looks the part. Secondly, she is among the biggest and iconic pop stars; thus, her singing will transcend the role.
For those wondering, this franchise exists outside the DCEU or the DCU as it is now called. Therefore, Margot Robbie is not Harley Quinn here. Nor will she appear.
In addition to Lady Gaga’s Harley Quinn, recent shots from the film now hint at Two-Face’s presence. Certainly, Two-Face can be grounded enough to fit within this movie’s realistic world.
In one photograph, a person in a crowd holds up a sign that reads “Dent is a Clown.”
Joker 2: Exciting Photo Leaks Show Harley Quinn And Tease Two-Face
That would be Gotham City district attorney Harvey Dent. In the comics, acid turned half of Dent’s face into a monstrous visage. He is among Batman’s classic foes. Although there are no plans for Batman to show up in these movies, his villains are another matter entirely.
Time will tell if this film can equal the acclaim and popularity of the first.
But it’ll take some big swings and for that alone it is to be commended.