Warner Bros. released a new clip of Joker: Folie à Deux, colloquially known as Joker 2 to the francophone-adverse moviegoer, that effectively sets the stage for Lady Gaga’s Harley Quinn and her unhinged infatuation with Joaquin Phoenix’s Arthur Fleck.
In the clip, shared during the Venice Film Festival and on YouTube by the Upcoming, Joker’s soon-to-be partner in crime, Harley Quinn, reveals how she came into hero-worshipping the crash-out clown prince of Gotham. During her incarcerated confession, “Lee” reveals that she watched Fleck’s contentious talk show interview with Robert De Niro’s Murray Franklin. Not only was she already firmly in Fleck’s camp, she also hoped Joker would blow Franklin’s brains out. As if answering her prayer, he did, prompting Lee to confess that his murderous act made her feel like she wasn’t alone in the world anymore before she trails off into song: Judy Garland’s “Get Happy.” And… scene.
Considering fans’ recent trepidation around Lady Gaga’s portrayal of Harley Quinn, the bone-chilling clip couldn’t come at a better time. In a recent interview with Variety, director Todd Phillips revealed that his sequel film’s take on the DC Comics character would be a big departure from previous iterations.
“The high voice, that accent, the gum-chewing, and all that sort of sassy stuff that’s in the comics, we stripped that away,” Phillips told Variety. “We wanted her to fit into this world of Gotham that we created from the first movie.”
Phillips further clarified that Gaga’s Harley Quinn is a different take on the character than fans have grown accustomed to with Margot Robbie’s portrayals; in addition, his take won’t see her as a doctor in Arkham but as a fellow patient alongside Fleck.
“We tried to respect the animated series, the comics, the movies, but run it through a really realistic lens like we did [in Joker,]” Phillips said.
Todd Phillips discusses Lady Gaga’s take on Harley Quinn in #JokerFolieaDeux. https://t.co/NmOS73Xb53 pic.twitter.com/MWFx0a94QJ
— Variety (@Variety) August 20, 2024
Phillip’s sentiments on Gaga’s Harley Quinn mirror what Robbie has said about future tales on the famed DC character.
“I always wanted Harley to be a character that would get passed on to other actresses to play, the way there are so many iconic male characters. That was always the dream for her,” Robbie told Variety. “Harley’s so fun and can go in so many different directions. You put her in someone else’s hands, and it’s like, ‘What are they going to do with her?’ The options are endless.”
Time will tell whether Phillips, Phoenix, and Gaga’s clown musical character study procedural courtroom drama flick will resonate with moviegoers the way the first film did. Joker 2 hits theaters October 4.
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