Joker: Folie à Deux: Release Date, Cast And Other Things We Know About The Upcoming Sequel

When 2019’s Joker came out, the world was thrown into a tailspin at the iconic portrayal that Joaquin Phoenix brought to the mesmerizing DC character, painting a moving picture of many elements of society, such as the state of mental health, capitalism, poverty, and so much more. It captured the eyes of audiences and did fantastically well at the box office, and won Phoenix the Academy Award for Best Actor. Truly, it was a masterpiece. 

So, of course, a sequel was called for, and now we know enough to talk about the next Joker film that is being worked on right now. However, who is going to star in this film with Phoenix and Lady Gaga? What might it be about? If you have these questions and more, here is what we know so far about Joker: Folie à Deux. 

What Is The Joker: Folie A Deux Release Date?

Joker: Folie a Deux is set to come out October 4, 2024, according to Deadline. While we can’t expect it to be on any 2023 movie release schedule, we at least have next year to look forward to. 

Also confirmed by Deadline is that the sequel to Joker will be titled Joker: Folie à Deux. You might be wondering what this means for the Joker universe, and basically “folie à deux” is a French term that pertains to the medical field, referring to a mental illness that affects two or more people. 

What this means for the plot is unknown. The Joker ending had Arthur Fleck living in a mental asylum and supposedly committing murders (if it wasn’t all in his mind) against the nurses, but the title could mean that we might see someone other than Fleck having the same serious mental problems - which we’ll get into later.  

Joaquin Phoenix And Lady Gaga Will Co-Star Together

It wouldn't really be a sequel to Joker if the man himself wasn’t returning, and thankfully, we don’t need to deal with another person taking on the mantle of the famous villain, as Joaquin Phoenix is confirmed to return as Arthur Fleck, according to Variety. 

Phoenix ended up garnering critical acclaim for his portrayal of Fleck, earning him several awards including an Academy Award, so it makes sense that he would return. Phoenix did a lot of work to prepare for the role of Fleck, including losing a lot of weight to fit the part, so who knows exactly what’s going to happen next for the star in this sequel. But, I’ll be excited to watch him either way. 

Another person that we can all expect to star in the sequel is Lady Gaga. When the news was first circulating that Lady Gaga might be hopping onto Joker: Folie à Deux as a co-star for Phoenix, I was eager to see who she would play, but now we at least have confirmation that Lady Gaga is going to star in Joker: Folie à Deux alongside Phoenix, according to the Variety article from before. 

In celebration, Lady Gaga took to Twitter to share her excitement for the role, sharing a teaser with the rest of her followers to confirm her place in the film: 

Variety initially reported that Lady Gaga would possibly play the role of Harley Quinn, a character that has been in live action several times lately in the DC universe, and with her confirmation in the movie, I can’t wait to see what she brings to the table. We’ve had Margot Robbie playing Harley Quinn in the DC live-action films, and even heard Kaley Cuoco voice the iconic character for the HBO Max original series, but this would be a brand new version, separated from both those universes. 

Later down the line, it was confirmed that Lady Gaga was indeed playing Harley Quinn – and already, the director shared a first-look photo of her and Phoenix on his Instagram as the two iconic characters.   

Lady Gaga has had plenty of mind-bending roles in her time as an actress, like her starring roles on the Ryan Murphy-created American Horror Story series, so seeing her step into the shoes of a character like Harley Quinn is going to be exciting. 

Zazie Beetz, Catherine Keener, And More Have Been Cast As Well

If you were wondering who else might be joining these stars in Joker: Folie à Deux, there are several actors and actresses that are confirmed. Someone that you might remember from the first film is in talks to come back for the second– Zazie Beetz, as reported by Deadline, back in August 2022. Beetz is known for plenty of roles, including her starring role in Atlanta as well as Deadpool 2, but it’ll be awesome to see her in the Joker universe once again. 

Deadline also confirmed  that Brendan Gleeson joined the cast of the movie.  Gleeson has done plenty of notable work, including the Academy Award-nominated movie, The Banshees of Inisherin and Mr. Mercedes, and now he’ll be stepping into the world of Arthur Fleck.  

Another star that is set to join is Catherine Keener, according to Deadline, in an undisclosed role, but we know that it will be major. Also cast, according to The Hollywood Reporter, is Jacob Lofland, who’s character is unnamed so far but it is apparently a “key Arkham Asylum role.” Which, if you can remember, is where Arthur is institutionalized at the end of Joker.

Harry Lawtey is also set to join the ensemble, according to Deadline. His role is also unknown as of March 2023, but Deadline also reported that the role is also going to be a “big one.”

The Joker Sequel Will Be A Musical

I don’t think this was something anyone saw coming, but somehow, I can see it working. Confirmed in the Variety article regarding Lady Gaga’s casting, this upcoming sequel is set to be a musical.

I mean, if we want to talk about the best person to bring in for a musical, it would be Lady Gaga. The superstar has won several Grammy Awards for her impressive music career, sold millions of records, and even won an Academy Award for her song “Shallow” in the film, A Star is Born, so she would be the best co-star to have in a movie like this. 

And, I can’t wait to see the musical moments between her and Phoenix. Now that is something I’m willing to pay to see - whether it be in their heads or not.  

Todd Philips Is Returning To The Director’s Chair

According to the Deadline article regarding the release date for the sequel, it’s been confirmed that the original director of Joker, Todd Philips, is returning to the director’s chair for Joker 2. In early June 2022, Philips took to his Instagram to share a teaser of the first page of the script for Joker: Folie à Deux, and it wasn’t that long after that it was confirmed he would return. 

Philips was also nominated for Best Director for the original Joker, so it’s great to see him return to the sequel and I can’t wait to see how he turns this into a musical. It’s going to be something different, that is for sure. 

Filming Ending In April 2023

If you were to wonder when Joker: Folie à Deux would begin to film, the answer would be that it’s already in production. When the film was initially announced back in June 2022, it was confirmed there would be a production start of December 2022. Filming did end indeed begin during that time.

Todd Phillips actually posted a picture of Phoenix on set on Day 1 of filming in December on Instagram, simply captioning it, “My boy. Day 1.” 

However, in April 2023, it was confirmed that the Joker sequel had finished filming. Phillips took to Instagram to share the news, thanking the cast and crew for a great time filming. 

It's getting closer and closer by the day.

What are you the most excited for in terms of Joker: Folie à Deux? I’m sure that whatever comes to theaters on October 4, 2024, we are all going to be blown away, and I can’t wait to see the Joker and Harley Quinn back on screen in live-action form once again in this upcoming 2024 movie.