The Joker is back, and this time he’s bringing a friend.
Lady Gaga is in early talks to star opposite Joaquin Phoenix in director Todd Phillips’ sequel to Joker, the Oscar-winning, $1 billion-grossing, 2019 Warner Bros. hit based on the DC villain.
Phillips has been writing the script with Joker co-writer Scott Silver for some time and has finally shown it to the studio. Last week, Phillips revealed on social media the title of the new project — Joker: Folie à deux — referencing a medical term for an identical or similar mental disorder that affects two or more individuals, usually members of the same family. And while the same social media post showed Phoenix reading the script, the actor’s involvement is not exactly a fait accompli just yet — sources tell The Hollywood Reporter that Warners has yet to close a deal with the actor, with the two sides deep into it.
Enter Gaga.
It is unclear whether Phillips and company are using other DC characters or striking out on their own, as they did in many instances with the first movie.
If a deal makes, Gaga would play Quinn. However, this new Quinn exists in a different DC universe than Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn, who most recently appeared in 2021’s The Suicide Squad as well as several other films.
But wait, that’s not all: Sources say the sequel is also a musical.
Phillips previously produced A Star Is Born, the 2018 remake that starred Joker producer Bradley Cooper and Gaga.
