‘Joker’ Director Reveals First Look at Joaquin Phoenix in ‘Folie À Deux’ Sequel

Director Todd Phillips has shared a first look at DC’s upcoming comic book movie, “Joker: Folie à Deux,” the sequel to 2019’s “Joker.”

The filmmaker – best known for directing ‘The Hangover’ franchise – posted a photo on Instagram from the film’s first day of shooting on Saturday afternoon, featuring leading man Joaquin Phoenix.

“Day 1. Our boy. #joker,” Phillips wrote alongside a photo of Phoenix reprising his Oscar-winning role as Arthur Fleck aka the Joker.

In the cryptic image, Phoenix, 48, is seen lying shirtless with a dead-eyed expression and staring at the ceiling, while his character has his face shaved by what appears to be an Arkham Asylum medic .

Fans of the film will recall the final shot of 2019’s R-rated ‘Joker’ which showed Fleck running through the halls of the asylum to the tune of Frank Sinatra’s ‘C’est la vie’, leaving footprints bloody, having clearly murdered another victim.

Set to be a musical, the sequel will star Lady Gaga as the Joker’s iconic love interest, Harley Quinn. Catherine Keener, Brendan Gleeson and Zazie Beetz also star in the film.

In August, the Grammy-winning artist confirmed the casting news on Twitter. “Joker: Madness for two. 10.04.24″, she tweetedannouncing the film’s release date via an animated clip of Joker and Quinn dancing.

Margot Robbie – who portrayed the cheerful sadist Quinn onscreen in 2016’s ‘Suicide Squad’, 2020’s ‘Birds of Prey’ and 2021’s ‘The Suicide Squad’ – recently shared that she was ‘so happy’ that Lady Gaga takes on the role of bat-wielding supervillain baseball.

“It makes me so happy because I said from the start, all I want is for Harley Quinn to be one of those characters, like Macbeth or Batman always goes from a great actor to a great actor”, Robbie told MTV News in October. “It’s such an honor to have built a strong enough foundation that Harley can now be one of those characters that other actors can try to play. I think she’s going to do something amazing with it. that.

“Joker” was a huge box office hit upon its release, earning 11 Oscar nominations. The film won Best Original Score and Best Actor in a Leading Role for Phoenix.

In November of that year, The Hollywood Reporter reported that The sequel to Warner Bros. based on the DC villain was “on the way” after the original movie grossed over $1 billion.

While specific plot details on the sequel are still under wraps, “Joker: Folie à Deux,” which translates to “Joker: Madness for Two,” is set to hit theaters on October 4, 2024.