Todd Phillips' 2019 billion-dollar hit, Joker, is a controversial film that depicts a raw origin story about the future Clown Prince of Gotham. Joaquin Phoenix became the second actor after the late Heath Ledger to win an Oscar for portraying the Joker. Now that a sequel is in the works, with Phillips returning as director, and Phoenix putting on the makeup again as the DC villain, many are wondering what Joker: Folie à Deux ("Madness for Two") can offer.
It is reported that Lady Gaga may star as Harley Quinn and that the Joker sequel will be a movie musical. Harley Quinn becomes enamored with Joker long after he’s been terrorizing Gotham and fighting Batman. Introducing her in this version of the story before Batman is even around doesn’t make a lot of sense — but maybe that’s the point.
Harley Quinn's Age
It's not entirely clear how old Joaquin Phoenix's Arthur Fleck/Joker character is in Phillips' feature, but given that it takes place in the early 1980s, Fleck is likely in his early 30s, since he's just starting out his career as an aspiring comedian who turns into a killer. Based on the comics and Margot Robbie's recent portrayal of Harley Quinn in the Suicide Squad films, the female villain is generally presented in her late 20s to early 30s. If Harley were to appear alongside Phoenix's Joker in his version, she would be fairly younger (or technically nonexistent) if the story still occurs in the 80s rather than the 90s (which is around Harley's birth year).
Harley could be introduced as a child who grows up as a young woman and follows in the footsteps of Joker, meaning that Fleck would be older, in his 40s or 50s, in the sequel. Age and the time period will factor into how the plot of the next Joker film plays out.
Harley's Characterization
Lady Gaga would be an ideal choice for the role of Harley Quinn, especially after her powerhouse performances in A Star Is Born and House of Gucci. Gaga has both acting talent and, of course, high musical skills (which is what the sequel seems to be aiming for). However, if Todd Phillips decides to continue his story in the 1980s, this version of Harley Quinn, like Fleck, would be an inexperienced killer just starting out. Gaga's Harley will not have the firepower and high technical resources like Margot Robbie's Quinn in the present-day Suicide Squad features.
Similar to Fleck, Gaga can portray Harley's physical and mental traits, as well as her psychological transformation. However, an issue that many fans could be wondering about is how Harley will be incorporated into a story set in the 80s. Also, the last thing that Phillips wants to do is replicate the success of the first film by making Harley's journey too similar to Fleck's. Phillips made that mistake with The Hangover Part II by making that sequel too familiar and predictable due to using the same plot elements as the classic and hilarious first film.
The Plot of the Joker Sequel
The greatest issue for Phillips' Joker sequel is not only figuring out what the primary story will be, but how to balance the screen time between Fleck and Harley. The director wouldn't want one character to overshadow the other. Also referring back to the age difference, a big question will be whether Joker and Harley will develop a romantic relationship.
A romantic relationship could be omitted since Harley would be younger and is meeting Fleck for the first time. At the end of the first film, Fleck is seen in Arkham State Hospital, but manages to escape while being chased. The sequel could begin by taking place in Arkham, in which Fleck continues to be imprisoned. While at Arkham, Fleck and Harley may meet for the first time, with Harley being Joker's psychiatrist, or as an inmate herself.
A problem with the Arkham scenario is that it was already done (albeit very briefly) in David Ayer's 2016 Suicide Squad film, in which Margot Robbie's Harley Quinn and Jared Leto's Joker first meet as psychiatrist and patient, respectively. Phillips' Joker sequel does have an opportunity to extensively lay out Fleck and Harley's introductory meeting at Arkham by having the characters do a musical number, expressing their feelings of dread and sadistic happiness.
Combining The Musical and Comic Book Genres
Another major question is how this film will work as a musical, considering that superhero and comic book films have never blended with the musical genre. Composer Hildur Guðnadóttir (who deservedly won an Oscar for her score for Joker) could find a way to make the sequel a musical, combining themes of tragedy, sadness, and mania in order to reflect the characters' behaviors and motives. A conflict here is that the tragedy theme has already been established in the first film, and using it again may be repetitive.
Similar to how Phillips was inspired by Martin Scorsese's Taxi Driver and The King of Comedy in order to construct the world of Joker, Phillips could create his sequel with inspiration from Tim Burton and Baz Luhrmann. Burton is known for his Batman features, as well as his gothic style of filmmaking, including the film adaptation of the musical Sweeney Todd. Luhrmann has had tremendous success with his musical film Moulin Rouge! and tragedies like his adaptation of William Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet. Phillips can find several ways to mix the musical and comic book genres in order to make his Joker sequel epic and dramatic, but like the first film, Phillips could be criticized for simply borrowing elements from other great directors.
Harley Quinn may not fit into this version of Joker's story due to her age discrepancy and the time period. However, her involvement could make Joker: Folie à Deux a surprisingly massive success like its predecessor, combining musical elements and dark themes in a supervillain feature.