Todd Phillips Shares Early Look at ‘Joker: Folie à Deux’ as Production Begins
“Joker: Folie à Deux” is still nearly two years away from hitting theaters, but DC fans got their best look yet at the upcoming film today. Todd Phillips, who received three Oscar nominations after co-writing and directing “Joker,” took to his personal Instagram account today to share a picture of Joaquin Phoenix as Arthur Fleck while appearing to announce that the sequel has begun production.
“Day 1. Our boy,” Phillips wrote in the caption, which accompanied a picture of a shirtless Phoenix being shaved by a barber at the Arkham Asylum.
The image does not offer any new information about the film’s biggest question marks, namely the presence of Lady Gaga as Harley Quinn. The “House of Gucci” star officially joined the cast of the film in August, when it was revealed that the sequel would be a musical.
While Lady Gaga’s Harley Quinn look is still being kept under wraps, she already has one major advocate in her corner. Margot Robbie, who famously played the iconic villainess in three films beginning with David Ayer’s “Suicide Squad,” recently expressed her support for the recasting.
“It makes me so happy because I said from the very beginning that all I want is for Harley Quinn to be one of those characters — the way Macbeth or Batman, always gets passed from great actor to great actor,” Robbie said in an interview earlier this year. “It’s such an honor to have built a foundation strong enough that Harley can now be one of those characters that other actors get to have a go at playing. And I think she’ll do something incredible with it.”
Phillip’s musical sequel comes as the DC Universe is in the midst of a major shakeup due to leadership changes at Warner Bros., but fans of the “Joker” universe have nothing to worry about. Previous reporting has indicated that Phillips’ “Joker” films will continue to exist outside of the shared universe and newly minted DC Studios CEOs James Gunn and Peter Safran have been tasked with building.
‘Joker: Folie à Deux’ is currently scheduled to open in theaters on October 4, 2024.