Subscribe
Follow Us
As filming of Joker: Folie à Deux, or Joker 2, has commenced, we will catch you up on the latest on Todd Phillips' sequel to 2019's Joker.
Why is there a Joker 2?
As many things in Hollywood go, it came down to money. The reality of it is, Joker was the sixth highest-grossing film of 2019; grossing over $1 billion globally and making more money than the likes of Star Wars: Episode IX — The Rise of Skywalker, Toy Story 4, and Guy Ritchie's live-action Aladdin. Yes, the film is based on a popular IP just like many of the other films in the top 10 of that year — in fact, all of the top ten highest-grossing films of 2019 were sequels, prequels, threequels, or reboots of some kind — but it also had an R rating which makes it somewhat less accessible for, say, Toy Story 4 or Frozen II.
Plus, the film was made on a relatively smaller budget than some of its other comic book movie counterparts. The reported budget was between $55-70 million (a typical MCU entry costs north of $150-200 million). With profits like that, who wouldn't want to capitalize and make more? Granted, it does appear that Joker 2 will cost more, which makes sense given the added star power.
What's it about?
Not a lot about the plot is known, though we know it won't be canon within the DCU, thanks to a recent Variety interview with James Gunn. Joker leaned heavily into Martin Scorsese's 70s work, largely pulling from The King of Comedy and Taxi Driver. Will he continue that trend in Joker 2? Maybe we'll get a Joker story similar to New York, New York or a riff on Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore (Arthur Doesn't Live Here Anymore). Jokes aside, the film will supposedly be a musical — making use of the casting of Lady Gaga.
It does appear, however, that we could be returning to the famous stairs from the previous film thanks to some recent set photos.
Who's in it?
Obviously, Joaquin Phoenix is set to return as Arthur Fleck. The last we saw of him, he was being held in Arkham Asylum where he was laughing at a joker the therapist “wouldn't get.” Zazie Beetz is reportedly returning as the love interest Arthur fantasizes about, but never actually dates, in the previous film.
Lady Gaga was cast in the film as Harley Quinn, further cementing this from being separate from the DCU given that Margot Robbie currently holds down that role there. Brendan Gleeson, hot off the Oscar-nominated film, The Banshees of Inisherin, also joined the cast. Jacob Lofland, Catherine Keener, and Harry Lawtey were also cast.
When does Joker 2 come out?
Joker 2 is scheduled to be released theatrically on October 4, 2024.
