Photo: Instagram.com
Lady Gaga has officially signed on to star opposite Joaquin Phoenix in Joker: Folie à Deux, the sequel to Todd Phillip’s Oscar-winning smash hit The Joker.
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Lady Gaga announced the casting in a video on her official social media page. Silhouettes of Phoenix and Gaga slowly dance over a red background as an instrumental version of the jazz standard ‘Cheek to Cheek’ plays in the background. The two silhouettes dance together as Phoenix’s laughter can be heard in the background over the title card. The final frame reveals the film’s anticipated release date of October 4, 2024.
The Joker was an international sensation and became the highest-earning R-rated film of all time, grossing over $1.07 billion worldwide. It received 11 Oscar nominations and won two trophies: for Phoenix as well as composer Hildur Gudnadottir, who won for best score. Phoenix won his second best actor Oscar for playing Arthur Fleck, the emotionally-disturbed standup comedian and professional clown who eventually transforms into the titular DC villain.
In June, Joker director Todd Phillips shared a photograph on Instagram of Phoenix reading the finished script for Folie à Deux. Lady Gaga has been rumored to star opposite Phoenix in the film since earlier this summer. Many believe she’ll portray Harley Quinn, Fleck’s psychiatrist at the Arkham Asylum mental institution who falls for him and becomes partner in crime.
The sequel’s title, Folie à Deux, refers to a shared psychosis or delusional disorder that is transmitted from one individual to another. It’s been rumored that the sequel will be a musical, and, given Gaga’s casting, that seems likely to be true. She won an Oscar for best original song for writing “Shallow” from A Star is Born in 2019, which she also starred in. She was also nominated for best actress that same year.
The news of Gaga’s casting comes during a difficult week for Warner Bros and DC, which announced that it was scrapping the $90 million, nearly finished Batgirl film, as well as removing six original movies from its streaming platform, HBO Max. But perhaps a Gaga and Phoenix super-villain musical is precisely what the struggling studio needs.
Originally published in Vanityfair.com
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