Anyone excited aboutJoker: Folie à Deuxcan officially start counting the days until the film’s premiere, because director and writer Todd Phillips just shared a harrowing image from the movie’s first day on set.
Jokermarveled the world in 2019 as an unfancied mid-budget film that put Batman’s archenemy in a new light, largely thanks to Joaquin Phoenix’s stellar performance that won him numerous awards. Along withThe Batman, this dark detached world is Warner Bros. Discovery’s other uncontestedDCmovie, so expectations forJoker 2are quite high, especially considering Lady Gaga joined the cast to play Arthur Fleck’s darling, Dr. Harleen Quinzel.
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From the looks of the photo shared by Phillips on his Instagram account (@toddphillips), it looks likeFolie à Deuxwill be picking up not too long after the first movie ends, when Arthur is on the verge of being captured and sent back to Arkham Asylum after his murderous outburst sparked a revolution of sorts in the streets of Gotham City. Just like in the first movie,Joker 2won’t see Phoenix undergo any superhero transformation, at least not physically, because the picture simply shows a battered skinny man getting a shave in what most likely is Phillips rendition of the cursed Arkham Asylum.
Naturally, the vibes from this sole picture bring back memories ofJoker’stwisted setting seen from Arthur’s eyes, as that was precisely the main driving force behind the first movie and Arkham will surely make for an even more somber place for his psyche to unravel. Regardless of that, as filming advances, many fans will be even more excited to see thefirst reveal of Lady Gaga as Harley Queen.
Made with a production budget reported to be in the $55-70m region,Jokeris by far the most profitable comic book movie ever made with its billion-dollar box office giving it one of the highest returns on investment seen in Hollywood in recent memory. While it may still be far off from the impressive returns achieved by low-budget horror gemsHalloweenandThe Blair Witch Project, or evenall-time greats such asRockyandMad Max,Jokerdid prove not all superhero movies need to spend $100m in CGI effects in order to captivate audiences and critics.
Joker: Folie à Deux’stitle translatesto “madness by two”, a rare clinical disorder known as shared psychosis in which one individual’s psychiatric symptoms are acquired by a second person, meaning for the first time Batman fans will get to see theJoker and Harley Queen story they’ve always dreamedof.
Joker: Folie à Deuxis scheduled to premiere on Jun 28, 2025.
