All You Need to Know About Joker: Folie à Deux: Cast, Plot, and Release Date

Joker: Folie à Deux Sequel – Everything We Know

We’re still a long way out from Joker: Folie à Deux playing its ace in theaters with Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga on deck, but with the film’s new trailer drop – and fan anticipation skyrocketing for the DC Comics-inspired blockbuster – it’s time to break down everything we know about the Joker sequel before cinemas go full clown in the coming months.

Who’s in the cast?

Most of the team from the first film is returning for the 2024 sequel.

Joker’s initial on-screen love interest, Sophie Dumond, is set to appear in Folie à Deux, with Zazie Beetz reprising the role after her character’s arc came to an ambiguous end in the first film. Leigh Gill, who portrayed Fleck’s clown coworker, Gary, will also return for the sequel, as will Sharon Washington, who played Fleck’s social worker.

Notable new cast members include Lady Gaga as Harley Quinn (alternatively known as Dr. Harleen Quinzel, an Arkham Asylum psychiatrist) as well as Oscar-nominated actors Catherine Keener, Steve Coogan, and Brendan Gleeson.

What is Joker: Folie à Deux about?

The grim tone of the first Joker movie appears to be intact as Phoenix, Gaga, and Phillips prepare to play their hand in the sequel – but the story at the core of the film is a (still somewhat disturbing) musical romance.

Picking up after the events of the 1980s-set initial installment, Joker: Folie à Deux finds Fleck (Phoenix) locked away in Arkham Asylum for his role in the massive Gotham City uprising that led to the deaths of talk show host Murray Franklin (Robert De Niro) as well as Bruce Wayne’s parents, Thomas and Martha. There, he meets Harleen Quinzel, a fellow patient who develops a peculiar bond with Fleck. As seen in the trailer, it seems they ultimately break out of the asylum together before wreaking havoc on the city. Their love seems real, but considering that the first Joker played with the boundary between reality and Arthur’s imagination, it’s hard to tell what footage from the trailer (which shows the Joker running from other people dressed like him, and performing alongside Harley in cabaret clubs, among other things) is imaginary or not.

The film also incorporates musical elements and sees Gaga and Phoenix dance to covers of classic songs as they navigate their whimsical romance backdropped by exaggerated cityscapes and quirky set pieces that set reality slightly off-kilter. The film’s French subtitle, Folie à Deux, refers to a psychiatric disorder involving a shared psychosis between two closely connected people — indicating that the film might blur the line between the central duo’s courtship and the real world around them.

How will Lady Gaga portray Harley Quinn?

When Gaga acts, she acts. Take, for example, her last trio of major screen appearances in American Horror Story: Hotel, A Star Is Born, and House of Gucci. That’s why it came as a bit of a surprise that, in the first official audio released from Joker: Folie à Deux, Gaga sounded remarkably like… well… Gaga.

Many anticipated that, given her penchant for vocal acrobatics, she might tap into traditional portrayals of the villainous character, who often sports a heavy Brooklyn accent. Robbie earlier revealed that she hasn’t yet spoken to Gaga about passing the baton for the character.

What new information does the Joker: Folie à Deux trailer introduce?

The trailer opens with Arthur Fleck still imprisoned in Arkham Asylum, where viewers left him at the end of 2019’s Joker. We see his meet-cute with Harley in the hallways of Arkham. It also seems like he’s open to changing his non-supervillain career, moving from standup comedy to cabaret singing.

How does Joker: Folie à Deux connect to the DC Comics characters it’s based on?

Bill Finger, Jerry Robinson, and Bob Kane created The Joker in 1940’s Batman #1, but the character has experienced many reimaginings over the years. Phoenix and Phillips’ version combines elements from across the character’s history with several of their own ideas. For instance, the character’s real name “Arthur Fleck” is unique to these movies and does not stem from the comics.

Harley Quinn originates in Batman: The Animated Series and Gaga’s interpretation appears to continue the tradition of her being a psychiatrist at Arkham Asylum who falls for the Joker when she encounters him.

Will Joker: Folie à Deux connect to other DC movies?

No. The original Joker was conceived from the beginning as existing outside the main continuity of DC superhero movies.

When will Joker: Folie à Deux be released?

Warner Bros. has set the Joker: Folie à Deux release date for October 4 in theaters, though we expect a run through the fall festivals much like Joker did back in 2019 before that.