Chaos. Anarchy. Delusion. Violence. Laughter? One could say that 2019’sJokercould be summed up by those five words. The last word was mostly just heard in the head of the main character, Arthur Fleck (Joaquin Phoenix). The mentally unstable clown and wannabe stand-up comedian tookGotham Cityby storm by wanting to break out of his shell and show the world what he was made of. The original film earned Phoenix the Academy Award for Best Actor, Best Original Score for Hildur Guðnadóttir, and it was nominated for 11 Oscars in total.
For a movie as shocking and dark as it was, it was a massive hit in the box office, pulling in over $1 billion worldwide. A sequel was announced shortly after its premiere and that sequel is coming out later this fall. Joker: Folie À Deux will be released on July 02, 2025 after premiering at the Venice Film Festival a month prior. Joker won the Golden Lion, the top prize at the Venice Film Festival, the year it was released.
For those wondering, Folie À Deux is a shared delusional disorder or shared psychosis. That means someone else is as wrapped up in the craziness as Arthur is. That person is Harleen Quinzel aka Harley Quinn (Lady Gaga). What else can we expect from Joker: Folie À Deux and how does it connect to Joker and the otherBatmanfilms?Let us explain.
The official trailer for Joker: Folie À Deux will put a big smile on your face
Get back inside the mind of Joker when Joker: Folie À Deux hits theaters this October.
Joker: Folie a Deux
If you haven’t watched Joker, please stop reading. There are spoilers below about the plot of the film.When is Joker: Folie À Deux set
Watch Joker beforehand and you’ll get it
If you’ve seen Joker, you know Arthur Fleck is eventually captured and sent to Arkham Asylum, the mental institution in Gotham City. Joker: Folie À Deux is set two years after the previous film. Fleck is still in Arkham, and the film follows his rehabiliation. But his charms cause musical therapist Lee, Harley, to fall in love with him and join him in his delusions of grandeur. Fleck is also awaiting trial for all of his crimes, which becomes a media circus.
The new film features musical numbers, which is helpful when you have Lady Gaga in the cast, and it follows the fierce love story between the Joker and Harley Quinn.
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Where have we seen Harley Quinn before?
She was made most famous by Margot Robbie
Harley Quinn is one of the most recognizable comic book characters in the Batman universe. She has a storied history and a long-represented love affair with the Joker. Sadly, many people these days will know the relationship between Joker and Harley from the maligned Suicide Squad film where Jared Leto and Margot Robbie played Joker and Harley respectively. Luckily for many of us, Leto has yet to reprise that role and Robbie has played Harley three time.
She played Harley in The Suicide Squad (yes, a different film) and Birds of Prey (And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn). Harley has appeared in many other Batman TV series and films, including:
Suicide Squad is worth watching for Robbie’s performance as Quinn alone and The Suicide Squad should be watched after you watch the original.
She was set to be a villain in the fifth original Batman film series, but it was scrapped after Batman and Robin was a critical and commercial failure.
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Who returns from Joker to Joker: Folie À Deux?
Neither film has a huge cast list
As you know, Phoenix is returning as the titular character once again. The only other returning actors are Zazie Beetz’s Sophie Dumond, Leigh Gill as Gary, a fellow clown, and Sharon Washington as Arthur’s social worker. New cast members for the sequel include Gaga, Brendan Gleeson, Catherine Keener, Harry Lawley, and Steve Coogan.
Behind the camera, Todd Phillips is returning as director and writer and is joined by his writing partner, Scott Silver. Guðnadóttir is back doing the music for the film. Both films were shot by Lawrence Sher and edited by Jeff Groth. The first film was produced by Phillips, Bradley Cooper, and Emma Tilinger Koskoff. Koskoff and Phillips are producing the sequel alongside Joseph Garner.
Joker 2: Release date, cast, and everything we know so far
Joker: Folie a Deux is set to release next year. Here’s what we know about the sequel.
Where does Joker: Folie À Deux fit in with other Batman films?
It’s in its own universe
While we may have seen the character of the Joker in two other full length feature films previously within the Batman universe, Joker is in its own realm. Jack Nicholson portrayed the Joker in the original Batman in 1989. Heath Ledger famously portrayed the Joker in The Dark Knight in 2008, winning an Oscar for his portrayal of the psychotic clown. There were also times in other universes that theJoker was actually a herorather than a villain.
Phoenix was able to make the character his own, treating it completely differently than Ledger or Nicholson did.
But both of those jokers were in their own Batman film series. The original Batman series featured Michael Keaton starring as Batman in Batman and Batman Returns, Val Kilmer as the caped crusader in Batman Forever, and George Clooney putting on the costume in Batman and Robin. The Dark Knight trilogy saw Christian Bale play Bruce Wayne in Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, and The Dark Knight Rises.
Philips' Joker universe features an origin story of the character, as we get to see more of him as a citizen, if you will, rather than just the criminal mastermind the other films portray. Because of that, Phoenix was able to make the character his own, treating it completely differently than Ledger or Nicholson did. You can also expect to see a different Harley Quinn. Phillips toldVarietythat Gaga’s portrayal of Quinn is “more grounded” than previous iterations of the character to fit more into the realm of the first Joker film.
It remains to be seen if there is going to be a third Joker film. We will likely know more when this has been released, and we see where Fleck and Quinn are following his trial. It will also likely depend on the box office returns of the film. We also will have to wait and see the future of the current flagship Batman film series, which stars Robert Pattinson as Bruce Wayne, when The Batman - Part II is released in October 2026. That film hasn’t been shot yet, so we don’t know if the Joker or Harley Quinn will be in that.
