Joker 2 Will Take Place in Iconic DC Location
Joker 2 is flying over the cuckoo's nest and into Arkham Asylum, among the most iconic locations in the Batman universe. Director Todd Phillips' Joker sequel titled Joker: Folie à Deux reportedly takes place inside the psychiatric hospital for Gotham City's criminally insane, which houses most of the Dark Knight's notorious rogue's gallery in the DC Comics. The sequel, set to begin production later this year and release in theaters in October 2024, roughly translates its subtitle to "shared psychosis," hinting at a bad romance between criminal clown Arthur Fleck and Arkham psychiatrist Harley Quinn.
2019's Joker, which won star Joaquin Phoenix his first Oscar for his role as failed comedian turned chaos-sowing clown Arthur Fleck, ended with the Joker captured by the police — and Arthur's apparent escape from Arkham State Hospital.
According to sources close to the sequel, "a lot" of Joker 2 takes place inside Arkham Asylum, TheWrap reports. In June, The Hollywood Reporter broke the news that A Star Is Born Oscar winner and superstar singer Lady Gaga is in talks to play Quinn in what insiders describe as a musical sequel.
The subtitle "folie à deux" means "delusion or mental illness shared by two people in close association," suggesting the Joker sequel revolves around Fleck's relationship with Quinn inside the walls of Arkham.
In the comics, Harley Quinn is Harleen Quinzel, a criminal psychologist who falls in love with her patient and becomes the Joker's partner-in-crime. Arkham Asylum appears in most Batman media, acting as a key location in the 2005 film Batman Begins and as the primary setting of the Batman: Arkham video game franchise.
The Matt Reeves-directed The Batman, which takes place in its own universe separate from Joker, is where the Riddler (Paul Dano) lands in jail one cell over from an early version of the Joker (Barry Keoghan). That depiction of Arkham state hospital will be the setting of the as-yet-untitled The Batman spinoff series in the works at HBO Max, part of the budding Bat-Verse supervised by Reeves.
Warner Bros. will release Joker: Folie à Deux only in theaters on October 4, 2024. Upcoming DC Films include Black Adam (October 21, 2022), Shazam! Fury of the Gods (December 21, 2022), Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom (March 17, 2023), The Flash (June 23, 2023), and Blue Beetle (August 18, 2023).