Films

“Starting Lady Gaga’s Oscar campaign”: Fans go wild over Joker 2 musical details

By Jordan Robledo

24th March 2024

Instagram: @toddphillips

New details about Joker: Folie à Deux have been announced, and fans can’t get enough. 

On 4 October, movie enthusiasts around the world will finally be treated to the highly anticipated sequel, which has been confirmed to be a musical.

Directed by Todd Phillips, Folie à Deux is presumably set after the events of the Oscar-nominated 2019 film and will feature pop icon Lady Gaga as Harley Quinn, a psychiatrist who falls in love with Arthur Fleck (Joaquin Phoenix). 

Zazie Beetz will also reprise her role as Arthur’s love interest, Sophie Dumond. Brendan Gleeson, Catherine Keener, Jacob Lofland, and Harry Lawtey have been cast in undisclosed roles.

While Warner Brothers has remained relatively mum on the plot details, a source close to production recently shared some exciting news about the type of music that will be featured in the film.

Speaking with Variety, the industry insider revealed that Joker 2 will mainly be a jukebox musical featuring iterations of 15 “very well-known” songs, such as ‘That’s Entertainment’ from The Band Wagon musical.

Some examples of jukebox musicals include Moulin Rouge & Juliet, Mamma Mia! and Rock of Ages. 

They also revealed that the film creatives are leaving space open for one or two original tracks, but details regarding who will write or sing the songs are unknown. 

Lastly, the source said that the film’s composer, Icelandic musician Hildur Guðnadóttir, will “infuse her distinctive, haunting [music] cues]” into all of the jukebox tracks.

It didn’t take long for fans to flock to social media to share their reactions to the Joker 2 news. 

One fan on X, formerly known as Twitter, celebrated the inclusion of ‘That’s Entertainment,’ which was made famous by LGBTQIA+ icon Judy Garland.

“Another one of my Joker 2 song predictions. I keep thinking of just Harley solos so that’s probably where I’m going wrong but… idc I love her,” they wrote.  

Another fan echoed similar sentiments, writing: “Already starting [Lady] Gaga’s Oscar campaign btw.” 

A third user joked: “ngl a little devastated we’re not getting an entirely original score written by Lady Gaga on a typewriter with the ink replaced with the blood of clowns past or something.” 

The recent Joker 2 news comes a month after Phillips uploaded a Valentine’s Day Instagram post featuring three new images of Lady Gaga as Harley and Phoenix as the titular villain.

In the first image the pair look groomed and refreshed under what appears to be a spotlight, while the second sees Gaga and Phoenix nose-to-nose with the latter behind bars.

The image that best captures the upcoming musical stylings of the sequel are most evident in the final shot, with the pair glammed up on a rooftop in a romantic ballroom hold. 

Check out more fan reactions to the Joker 2 news below.