Joker 2: New Report Sheds Light on Folie à Deux's Musical Numbers

Joker: Folie à Deux might be one of the most high-profile projects of 2024, as audiences are eager to see how the sequel to DC's billion-dollar Joker movie shakes out. With pop superstar Lady Gaga lined up to portray Folie àDeux's incarnation of Harley Quinn, reports have indicated that the film will lean into a musical sensibility — and now, we might have a new indiction of what that entails. On Friday, a report from Variety revealed that Joker: Folie à Deux is "mostly a jukebox musical," and that early iterations of the film are confirmed to include at least fifteen "very well-known" songs. 

The report claims that Folie à Deux's musical numbers will be reinterpretations of the established songs, with composer Hildur Guðnadóttir reportedly "infuse her distinctive, haunting [music] cues" into each. The report also indicates that there is potentially room to include at least one original song in the final film, although there are no details surrounding those potential tracks. "That's Entertainment", a Judy Garland song best known from the 1953 movie musical The Band Wagon, is reported to be one of the established songs included. That, combined with the Old Hollywood aesthetic of Folie à Deux's first teaser trailer, could provide an indication of the time periods the film is drawing its music from.

What Is Joker 2 About?

Joker: Folie à Deux will be a musical that follows the twisted romance between Joaquin Phoenix's Arthur Fleck / Joker and Gaga's Harley Quinn, with a lot of the film reportedly taking place within Arkham Asylum. The film will also feature appearances from Zazie Beetz, Brendon Gleeson, Catherine Keener, and Jacob Lofland.

"It makes me so happy, because I said from the very beginning that all I want is for Harley Quinn to be one of those characters, the way Macbeth or Batman, always gets passed from great actor to great actor," Margot Robbie previously said of Lady Gaga taking on the role. "It's kind of like someone gets to do their Batman, or someone gets to do their Macbeth. I feel like, in not so many cases, are they female characters – Queen Elizabeth I, but beyond that, which I got to have a crack out as well, which I was honored to do. I was like, 'Wow! Cate Blanchett did Queen Elizabeth I. Now I get to.' 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. And I think she'll do something incredible with it."

Is Joker 2 in the DC Universe?

Joker: Folie à Deux is technically classified as a DC Elseworlds production, meaning that it exists in a canon outside of James Gunn and Peter Safran's forthcoming DC Universe of movies and Max-exclusive television shows. In a recent post on the social media platform Threads, Gunn revealed his involvement in Folie a Deux, explaining that he did give notes on the finished footage. That being said, Gunn did stress that the Joker sequel is one of the few upcoming DC films being shepherded by Warner Bros. Pictures, given when the film was first put into development.

"Todd had Joker in full swing by the time we came onboard – I've watched and given notes, but it is mostly with WB, where it started," Gunn wrote. "Everything forward in live-action we're involved with."

What do you think of these new reported details surrounding Joker: Folie à Deux? Are you excited for the upcoming DC film? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!

Joker: Folie à Deux will be released exclusively in theaters on Friday, October 4th.