Suicide Squadstar Margot Robbie made her opinion known of the potential Harley Quinn portrayal by world-renowned singer and actress Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta, better known by her stage name Lady Gaga, in theJoker: Folie à Deux. The star also spoke briefly about her hopes for her iconic character going forward.
The upcomingJoker: Folie à Deuxproject will serve as a sequel to the much-acclaimed 2019Jokerfilm loosely based on the DC comics character and prominent Batman villain of the same name. The first film gives the iconic Joker character an alternate origin story, telling the story of Arthur Fleck, an out-of-work clown and aspiring comedian who’s down on his luck and suffers from mental health issues. As the film chronicles his dramatic and sparingly sympathetic fall to insanity, the audience gets to see his antics inspire an uprising in a corrupt and inequitable Gotham. The film was a major success, with a musical sequel being confirmed andtheJoker 2release datebeing given earlier in the year.
RELATED:Harley Quinn Valentine’s Day Special Coming To HBO Max Next Year
Casting news followed soon after, withLady Gaga giving an appropriately musical confirmationof her involvement with theJoker 2. While her role in the movie has not been confirmed, rumors have strongly suggested that the singer will portray Harleen Quinzel, ex-psychologist at Arkham and frequent love interest for the project’s titular villain in comic continuity. Robbie, who has recently portrayed the character in every live-action iteration, was asked about this during an interview withMTV News. “It makes me so happy because I said from the very beginning, all I want is for Harley Quinn to be one of those characters, the way like Macbeth or Batman always gets passed from great actor to great actor,” the actress said while referring to the possible Harley Quinn casting.
Robbie, who recently portrayed the character in 2021’sspectacular superhero featureThe Suicide Squadalso acknowledged her part in elevating the role, albeit with more humility than otherwise. “It’s such an honor to have built a foundation strong enough that Harley can now be one of those characters that other actors get to have a go at playing. I think she’ll do something incredible with it,” she said. Her last sentiment is backed up by evidence, as despite some fans only knowing her from her immensely successful music career, Gaga is also an award-winning actress with multiple accolades from a plethora of authoritative names in film.
Robbie’s encouraging comments will no doubt add to a maelstrom of fan anticipation and speculation about the upcoming film, which kicked off as far back as when theinitially confusingJoker 2title was revealedin June. Catherine Keener, Brendan Gleeson, and Zazie Beetz have all been confirmed to feature in the sequel, which project director Todd Phillips and Scott Silver co-writing the screenplay for the film.
While the general consensus may be favorable for the film’s release, some fans are apprehensive about the sequel living up to the first film, as 2019’sJokerwas explicitly pitched as a one-off thing. Even Joaquin Phoenix, the leading star of the successful project, wasunsure of theJokermovie getting a sequeluntil rather recently, which doesn’t necessarily inspire confidence in the conceptualization. The strange choice to reportedly make the sequel project a musical in some capacity might also contribute to some skepticism around it. Whether or not these fears will be justified will have to wait untilJoker 2’s release.
Joker: Folie à Deuxis currently set for an Jun 30, 2025, theatrical release.
