One of the most acknowledged villains in superhero history, the Joker is a lunatic that comic book fans love to hate. From his iconic red smile to his sarcastic remarks, the DC character was brought to life by a few notorious names such as Heath Ledger, Jack Nicholson, and Joaquin Phoenix. The latter even garnered his first Academy Award for Best Actor for his riveting portrayal of Arthur Fleck's journey from a failed clown and struggling comedian to a violent and deranged criminal. After the impressive result of $1 billion at the worldwide box office, Todd Phillips returns to the director's chair to helm a sequel to his 2019 film, Joker. Now that we know a few exciting details about the upcoming production, including the official release date and new additions to the cast, here is a compilation of all the info that we know so far about this follow-up project.

Editor's Note: This piece was updated on April 10, 2024.

Does 'Joker: Folie À Deux' Have a Release Date?

After polarizing reviews and debates on Joker's moral compass, it took a while to know for certain if there would even be a sequel. Gladly, Phillips shared an Instagram post of the screenplay cover back in June to confirm the news. Not only did the post feature the official title of the film, Joker: Folie À Deux, but it also revealed that the filmmaker would return to direct and continue to tell the story of the infamous villain alongside his co-writer, Scott Silver.

On August 3, 2022, it was revealed that the sequel will come out on October 4, 2024. The release date will be five years after the first film hit theaters. Although that is still a long way from now, the following details about the production will surely make the wait pay off.

Is There a Trailer for 'Joker: Folie À Deux'?

Yes, the first official trailer for Joker: Folie Á Deux was released by Warner Bros on April 9, 2024, during the studio's panel at CinemaCon 2024. The trailer is set to a cover of the classic song "What the World Needs Now Is Love" and begins with Arthur Fleck attending a music therapy class in Arkham Asylum, where he meets Harleen Quinzel. The trailer then cuts between musical dreamlike sequences as well as scenes of the criminal lovebirds causing all kinds of chaos throughout Gotham City.

Who Stars in 'Joker: Folie À Deux'?

First and foremost, Joaquin Phoenix will be reprising his Academy Award-winning role as Arthur Fleck aka Joker, in Joker: Folie Á Deux. In 2020, Phoenix became the second actor in history to win an Oscar for playing the iconic supervillain after Heath Ledger posthumously won Best Supporting Actor for playing the Joker in The Dark Knight.

Academy Award and Grammy Award winner Lady Gaga is playing the ever-iconic role of Harley Quinn in the upcoming movie. The character was originally introduced in Batman: The Animated Series as Dr. Harleen Quinzel, a psychiatrist who ends up head over heels for the Joker. However, in Joker: Folie Á Deux, the character will be an inmate at Arkham Asylum, having already gone mad long before she meets the Clown Prince of Crime. It isn't the first time that Gaga has played a devious character on the big screen. In 2021, the singer/actress incorporated Patrizia Reggiani in Ridley Scott's take on the tragic death of Maurizio Gucci (played by Adam Driver). Audiences that have seen House of Gucci know that Gaga can perfectly portray a femme fatale, so having her as Harley Quinn seems like a spot-on casting decision.

A great array of talented performers will be joining Phoenix and Gaga in the musical sequel. Zazie Beetz, who memorably played Sophie, the beautiful neighbor whom Arthur stalks in the 2019 film, will reprise her role. Sharon Washington and Leigh Gill will also be reprising their roles from the first movie as Arthur's social worker and Arthur's coworker, Gary. Brendan Gleeson (The Banshees of Inisherin), will also be joining the cast as a prison guard at Arkham Aslyum. Academy Award Nominated actress Catherine Keener (Get Out) has also joined the project in a key role. Other new cast members in the sequel include Harry Lawtey (Industry), Jacob Lofland (Mud), Academy Award nominee Steve Coogan (Philomena), and Ken Leung (Star Wars: The Force Awakens).

What Will 'Joker: Folie À Deux' Be About?

An official synopsis for the film has still not been revealed, but based on the trailer, the film will begin with Arthur Fleck meeting Harleen Quinzel, a fellow patient at Arkham Asylum, during a musical therapy class. The two begin to fall madly in love with one another, and it seems that at some point in the movie, they'll break out of their cells and rampage through Gotham City.

Based on the title, which is a French phrase that means "shared madness by two people in close association", the story will probably follow a similar train of thought as the comics. Given that Harley Quinn and Arthur Fleck fall in love at the asylum, the film could be centered on their romance and how it reflects on their cruel partnership in the future. Who knows, maybe "Bad Romance" could even be the couple's song.

The sequel will be a musical and will lean further into Arthur's dreamlike delusions. Since Gaga has won an Academy Award for her work in "Shallow", the highly-successful original song in the 2018 version of A Star Is Born, the music aspect in the follow-up will be in good hands.

Zazie Beetz talked about the musical elements, saying:

I think people will be surprised. I don’t think it’s going to be what they expect, around it being musical,” Beetz, who is reprising her role as Sophie Dumond for “Joker: Folie à Deux, we all sort of express musically and dancing in our lives day-to-day. I think it’s going to work really well.

A source close to the project has stated that the movie will have some "complicated musical sequences," and that the budget will be much larger than the first film's $55 million budget, at around $200 million.

When Did 'Joker: Folie À Deux' Film?

Filming for Joker: Folie Á Deux began on December 11, 2022. Production for the first film lasted around three months, and with the ramped-up budget for the sequel and reportedly elaborate musical setpieces, filming for the sequel took a bit longer. It wrapped up filming in April 2023.

Todd Phillips took to Instagram and posted the first official image from the sequel to commemorate the start of filming.

The director returned to the social media platform to celebrate a successful shoot. Phillips gives us a new look at Lady Gaga's Harleen Quinzel. Now the film is in post-production.

Is 'Joker: Folie À Deux' Connected To The Batman?

Given that a similarly dark approach to Joker's mortal enemy in The Batman, you might be wondering if Robert Pattinson's character could be linked to Phoenix's. After all, audiences see the Riddler and the Joker connecting with one another behind closed bars at the end of the 2022 film, this time played by Barry Keoghan. Despite the hint to Joker's future involvement in the Cape Crusaders' story, Matt Reeves explained the real reason why he decided to include that nod to the iconic villain in an interview with Variety.

“I initially tested it without it; when I put it back in, the scores for the ending went back up. And I think it wasn’t just that people enjoyed seeing that character. It changed people’s response to the very ending of the movie, to see that Gotham was still Gotham, and that Batman really didn’t have a choice. He has to keep doing what he’s gonna do.”

Phillips was also very straightforward when Joker came out that it wasn't directly linked to the DC Extended Universe. Instead of connecting the character to Justice League or Suicide Squad, the director wanted the film to be solely about the villain's backstory. He even pitched to Warner Bros about starting a label called DC Black, in which various directors could pick a DC character and adapt their story to the screen without being attached to other franchises. Telling Deadline:

“I said, ‘This will be the first movie, and then we’ll get this director to do that, and this director to do this, and we’ll call it DC Black, and Joker will be the first film. In a weird way, it gives you two bites of the apple, of these characters. You can do these kind of down-and-dirty character studies over here, and still do the DC Universe over there. To which they said, ‘Okay, calm down, you’re not starting a label here at Warners, but this is interesting. Go write this and tell us what you’re thinking.’”

Since Joker was the first film to make this idea a reality, the sequel won't be any different.

After the surprising announcement that James Gunn and Peter Safran would be taking over as the heads of DC Studios, many started to speculate whether or not their arrival would have an impact on the film. Variety reported that the follow-up would be in no way connected to the new slate of DC films on the horizon from the new leadership.