Joker 2: James Gunn Reveals New Detail About the Film’s DC Elseworlds Branding

While the new DC Universe, as overseen by producers Peter Safran and James Gunn, will feature “Elseworlds” projects set outside of the main continuity line. While colloquially, both The Batman 2 and Joker: Folie a Deux have been referred to as “Elseworlds” projects, it appears neither will feature the Elseworlds branding when they hit theaters in 2024 and 2025. Talking with fans on social media, Gunn revealed that the actual Elseworlds banner won’t debut until at least 2025, when movies that Gunn and Safran oversee start to be released following Superman: Legacy. This means that at least Joker 2 (and likely Matt Reeves’s Batman movies) won’t be “Elseworlds,” just stand-alone movies without any special branding.

Fans figured this out in the way that most DC Universe news is broken these days: they asked James Gunn directly. After a fan asked whether there would be special branding for Joker 2, Gunn shot the idea down completely.

“Nope,” Gunn said on Threads. “Won’t debut until the films we’ve worked on.”

He has been silent on some similar questions raised so far, like the idea of refreshing the DC title card to reflect the “DC Studios” branding and some of the potential new character designs. But it seems likely the answer will be the same across the board: wait until Superman: Legacy (or at least Creature Commandos) for any of that.

According to sources close to the sequel, “a lot” of Joker 2 takes place inside Arkham Asylum. That makes sense, given that the relationship between Joker and Harley Quinn was built up inside of the building’s walls. Reports about the Joker sequel in recent months have revealed that the film will not only introduce Harley, but that the film will also be a musical. 

The title is a reference to a psychological condition in which two people who are in close proximity will share a common delusion, usually brought on by the more dominant of the two personalities and bleeding into the psyche of the other person. The disorder is rare, and usually impacts people within extremely close families or sometimes religious groups and romantic couplings. The title itself hints at the likely premise of the movie.

Other cast members confirmed to appear so far include Jacob Lofland (Maze Runner), Brendon Gleeson (Paddington 2) and Catherine Keener (Being John Malkovich).  

Warner Bros. will release Joker: Folie à Deux only in theaters on October 4, 2024.