Joker 2 Celebrates The End Of Filming With New Images Of Harley Quinn And Joker
Todd Phillips celebrates the end of filming of Joker 2 with images of Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga in full costume and makeup.
Joker 2 director Todd Phillips announced the end of filming for the upcoming sequel with two new images of its stars Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga. “That’s a wrap. Thanks to these two (+ the entire cast) and the BEST crew that the film industry has to offer. From top to bottom,” Phillips wrote. “Gonna crawl into a cave now (edit room) and put it all together.”
The images from Joker 2 feature a fresh look at Lady Gaga in her Harley Quinn makeup. The look is reminiscent of past portrayals of Quinn, who has been styled in many ways over the years, but it is a relatively understated take on the character. The image of Joaquin Phoenix shows a return to his clown makeup from the first film.
While Phillips crawls to his cave to assemble Joker 2, fans of the character are waiting on pins and needles for the sequel. Box Office Mojo reported that Joker grossed over $1 billion dollars in 2019, and it did so with an R rating and a modest budget, at least for a major comic book property. The film’s massive commercial success was accompanied by an Academy Award win for Joaquin Phoenix.
Phillips and co. will attempt to outdo themselves with Joker 2, which adds Lady Gaga as Harley Quinn and is expected to be a musical. Subtitled Folie à Deux (Madness for Two), Joker 2 is poised to detail psychiatrist Harleen Quinzel’s fall from grace.
Harley Quinn’s origin as the Joker’s sidekick and love interest was first explored in a one-shot comic book titled The Batman Adventures: Mad Love. Written and drawn by Harley Quinn’s creators, Paul Dini and Bruce Timm, the book told the story of Dr. Harleen Quinzel, who, while treating the Joker at Arkham Asylum, is manipulated by the psychopath and falls in love with him. She aids in the Joker’s escape and follows him with reckless abandon into a life of crime.
Joker was an in-depth character study, detailing the mental health struggles of a man named Arthur Fleck and how a lifetime of bullying, neglect, and unaddressed disorders turned him into the Clown Prince of Crime. Joker 2 is expected to take the same gritty approach, modifying and elaborating on the framework laid out in Mad Love to deliver a gritty, psychologically-driven take on Harley Quinn.
Lady Gaga will take on a version of Quinn separate from the iteration of the character made popular by Margot Robbie. DC Studios co-CEO James Gunn said Robbie’s role in the DCU is safe, and that projects like Joker 2 and Matt Reeves’ The Batman 2 will be classified as DC Elseworlds projects. The distinction puts the escapades of Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga outside the mainline DCU canon.
That freedom will allow Todd Phillips and his team to continue blazing new trails for comic book movies as they assemble Joker 2. The film is currently scheduled to release on October 4, 2024. Release dates for studio tentpole films have infamously been subject to change recently, but the production wrap announced by Phillips is a sign that the film is moving forward.
As the world awaits Joker 2, Joaquin Phoenix will hit the big screen twice this year with Ari Aster’s oddball horror film Beau is Afraid in April, followed by Ridley Scott’s Napoleon Bonaparte biopic Napoleon.
Joker was a fascinating setup for Gotham City’s greatest criminal, and Todd Phillips is hard at work to ensure that Joker 2 delivers the perfect punchline.
