Todd Phillips Reveals The First Look At Lady Gaga's Harley Quinn For Joker: Folie A Deux

Perhaps one of the more suitable ways to wrap up Valentine's Day is a brand-new look at Todd Phillips' highly anticipated sequel to 2019's "Joker." There's been a lot of intrigue surrounding the project, primarily because of the big-name star added to the film: Lady Gaga. The actress is playing who we can only assume to be Harley Quinn, a character created for "Batman: The Animated Series" as a psychiatrist who eventually falls in love with the Joker and becomes his partner-in-crime. Margot Robbie previously portrayed the character in the greater DC Extended Universe, and now the time has come for another iteration of the character in Phillips' gritty and decrepit depiction of Gotham City. 

Even the film's subtitle, "Folie à Deux," refers to a medical term for a delusion or mental illness shared by two people, solidifying the idea that Gaga will be playing the massively popular Batman character. Now, thanks to this new image, we have a better idea of how the relationship between the two characters will play out, especially given the impeccable timing of Phillip's release of this first-look image of the duo. While things may not have worked out with Zazie Beetz's character from the first film, there may yet be love in the air.

Director Todd Phillips shared the above photo on Instagram with the simple caption, "Happy Valentines Day." In it, we can see Joaquin Phoenix's Arthur Fleck and Lady Gaga's Harley Quinn sharing what is undoubtedly a twisted romantic moment in the film. Fleck's Joker makeup is faded, but some of it has clearly rubbed off on the face of Gaga's character, and I'll go ahead and let the readers figure out how it got there. The first "Joker" film ended on a catastrophic note, showing the influence of Arthur's actions as the Joker, inspiring a clown movement that led to fiery riots in Gotham City.

Exploring how deep Arthur's influence as the Joker runs with new characters is a natural thing to explore in the upcoming sequel and will likely be done through Gaga's character. Add to that the film is supposed to be a musical, and you have an exciting concept that differentiates itself from the original movie, which will more than likely use similar detached-from-reality moments that the first film used, only this time for musical numbers. Phillips' caption also confirms what many were already thinking, in that Phoenix and Gaga's characters will be romantically entangled thanks to their shared delusions. The official DC brand account even commented, "...love is in the air...?"

All that's left to see is if this warped relationship is meant to last when the film hits theaters on October 4, 2024.