See Lady Gaga Replacing Margot Robbie As Harley Quinn
What would The Joker be without Harley Quinn by his side wreaking havoc across Gotham City? Now Joaquin Phoenix’s Joker has his Harley Quinn in Lady Gaga for the upcoming sequel, Joker: Folie à Deux. In celebration, artist Jaxson Derr posted a portrait of the actress and singer in the role that was previously played by Margot Robbie.
Originally depicted in the comics in 1992, Dr. Harleen Quinzel fell in love with The Joker while treating him in Arkham Asylum, and soon became his sidekick as well as his lover. She took on a life of her own over the decades following, making her live-action feature debut in Suicide Squad in 2016 with Margot Robbie in the role. Joker is separate from Suicide Squad, so Lady Gaga being cast instead of Margot Robbie is only a replacement for one continuity of a very large universe.
Plus, Robbie couldn’t be more thrilled than she is now about to pass the role onto another great actor, like many classic roles past, “like Macbeth or Batman,” she said in an interview in October. She went on to add that she thinks Lady Gaga “will do something incredible with it.” Since Joker 2 takes place in a different continuity than Suicide Squad, Margot Robbie is not necessarily retired from the role, but she did a lot to define it and her face as Harley Quinn is on Suicide Squad merchandise everywhere.
Joker doesn’t have the same kind of merchandising as the other DC Universe franchise movies because it is a darker, more adult-themed story. Joaquin Phoenix turned in an Oscar-winning performance as Arthur Fleck, a mentally ill stand-up comedian who spirals into crime and madness from slipping through the cracks of society and becomes The Joker, archvillain of Gotham City. The world Lady Gaga is joining doesn’t quite have Batman yet, as Bruce Wayne is still a child in Joker.
The subtitle for Joker 2, “Folie à Deux,” means “madness for two” and is colloquially translated as “shared psychosis.” The addition of Harley Quinn to the second installment of the Joker movie is the kind of riddle the comic book Joker would have certainly appreciated. The picture on Jaxson Derr’s Instagram can certainly attest to why Arthur Fleck would fall for Lady Gaga’s Harleen Quinzel.
The announcement of a sequel came as a surprise to many because Joker was originally intended to be a stand-alone film. Its bleak themes of mental illness, poverty, and a lack of social support for the abused and disabled were still a cornerstone for a darker, more elevated look at Warner Bros.’ DC Universe, but both director Todd Phillips and star Joaquin Phoenix expressed an interest in delving more deeply into Arthur Fleck’s character. His relationship with Lady Gaga’s Harley Quinn will be a look at Arthur in what the couple thinks of as “love.”
A further reason for casting Lady Gaga in Joker: Folie à Deux is that it is going to be a musical, and there are few performers that have the theatrical presence of the “Born This Way” singer. In addition to a long list of musical performances, she previously co-starred in A Star Is Born, and performed a moving tribute to fellow musical actress Julie Andrews at the 2015 Oscars. Fans and industry insiders alike are excited to see her as Harley Quinn.
Joker: Folie à Deux is scheduled to be released in theaters on October 4, 2024. Though there are not yet any official pictures from the production, Jaxson Derr has given us a sneak peek into what the movie may look like. Lady Gaga looks spectacular as Harley Quinn in his imagining, and soon we will see her on-screen alongside The Joker.
