Let Chaos Reign: Here's the First Image of Lady Gaga in 'Joker: Folie à Deux'

By Kayleigh Donaldson | Film | February 15, 2023 |

By Kayleigh Donaldson | Film | February 15, 2023 |

I love chaos. Joker was fine, and it inspired a hell of a lot of very curious Discourse, but I would be lying if I said I wasn’t excited for the sequel. Joker: Folie à Deux sees director Todd Phillips reunite with Joaquin Phoenix, who won an Oscar for his performance, alongside one Lady Gaga. Ms. Stefani Germanotta is reportedly playing Harley Quinn in this musical — yes, really — and now we have our first image of the clown lovers, thanks to a Valentine’s Day treat via Phillips.

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Yup, that’s Lady Gaga and Joaquin Phoenix.

I’ve said this before in other posts about this movie but I am all in on the carnage it’s going to inspire. It’s a musical, which has made some DC fans weirdly mad. It’s going to lead to the terrifying fandom battle-slash-teamup between those DCEU nerds and the little monsters, which may destroy Twitter if Elon Musk doesn’t get there first. The Discourse Machine in my field may burst into flames. I deserve this.

Look, Joker was OK. It wasn’t dangerous incel bait, nor was it the second coming of Scorsese. It’s kind of bananas that people thought it would inspire genuine violence in the streets when all it really did was lead to some colorful tattoos, a few annoying tweets, and a billion-dollar box office reign. I didn’t think it was all that ambitious a film, but Phillips deciding to take all of that clout he got from Joker and use it to make an Arkham Asylum-set musical about mutual madness starring Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga? Hey, I’m a simple woman and I know what I like (and also the press tour for this with those two is going to be high-camp DRAMA.)

Warner Bros. Discovery clearly has high hopes for this one, which isn’t something you can say about many of their other non-canned projects right now. It’s got a bigger budget than the first one, with Phillips and Phoenix pulling on paydays of around $20 million. They’ve put it in the same cushy release spot of October that the first one got, which suggests they’re angling for a fall festival release and potential awards season push (Joker won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival in 2019.)

Of course, I don’t exactly trust Todd Phillips of all directors to do this concept justice. The best parts of Joker exist in spite of his choices. But hey, I want to see something truly mad unfold. So shine on, Gaga Quinn, and milk that method press tour for all its worth.

Joker: Folie à Deux is scheduled to be released theatrically on October 4, 2024.