For over five years, Margot Robbie has been bringing Harley Quinn to live-action, but she soon won't be alone in doing that. As it was confirmed this past week, Lady Gaga is officially set to star in the upcoming Joker sequel with Joaquin Phoenix as his Harley. With the news out, the writer/director of The Suicide Squad, James Gunn, has shared his thoughts on the casting.
When James Gunn, who is also behind the Guardians of the Galaxy movies and DC’s Peacemaker series, hosted a Q&A on his Instagram, he shared his reaction to Gaga as Harley. Check it:
Much like the rest of us, James Gunn is intrigued by the casting and ready to see what the heck the next Joker movie will be like. The filmmaker shared that he has met the pop singer and Oscar-nominated actress before and found her to be “really nice,” so he’s definitely rooting for her.
The followup to 2019’s mega-successful Joker movie will be called Joker: Folie á Deux, and will once again feature Joaquin Phoenix’s Arthur Fleck. Todd Phillips is back in the director’s chair for this sequel, which is going to be released on October 4, 2024.
It was first rumored that Lady Gaga could be involved in Joker: Folie á Deux back in June, but this week, it was made official when Gaga took to social media to share a short video teasing her casting and the film itself. Here’s the post:
It has also been reported that Joker: Folie á Deux will be a musical that primarily takes place in Arkham Asylum, but we likely still have ways to go before we really get a full picture about the Joker sequel. For now, it sounds like James Gunn is on board to see another Harley Quinn take the screen after recently working with Margot Robbie on her third appearance as the character in The Suicide Squad.
Robbie debuted as Harley in 2016’s Suicide Squad alongside Jared Leto's Joker, and this DC feature is still dealing with Release The Ayer Cut dialogue years after its release. After she became a fan-favorite in the otherwise divisive film, Robbie led 2020’s Birds of Prey, followed by 2021’s The Suicide Squad. There are no current plans for Robbie to return to Harley Quinn that isarein active development. However, DC fans have been getting their fill of the character through HBO Max’s Harley Quinn animated series, which is currently in its third season.
Joker was a massive box office hit, surpassing $1 billion at the worldwide box office, and earning 11 Oscar nominations and two wins: Best Original Score and Best Actor. Going into Joker: Folie á Deux, Phoenix is reportedly getting a pay bump. While we wait for more info on the movie, learn about the other upcoming DC movies here on CinemaBlend.
