Joker: Folie à Deux — release date, trailer, cast, and everything we know about the Joker sequel

Even as the future of the DC movie universe heads into a new unified direction, there is a holdover from the previous regime that is ready to cause a stir, Joker: Folie à Deux. Joaquin Phoenix and Todd Phillips are teaming up once again and are set to take their Joker sequel in an interesting direction.

2019's Joker was already unlike almost any other DC movie that we have seen before, providing a unique take on the classic Batman villain. Though the movie didn't feature any superhero fisticuffs, it still made more than $1 billion at the worldwide box office and earned two Oscars for Best Score and Best Actor for Joaquin Phoenix, as well as a Best Picture nom. The movie earned 11 Oscar nominations in total.

What can audiences expect from Joker: Folie à Deux? Here is everything we know about the Joker sequel.

Joker: Folie à Deux release date

Joker: Folie à Deux is set to release on October 4, which is five years to the day from when the first Joker movie was released. 

Joker: Folie à Deux plot

There is no official plot available for Joker: Folie à Deux at this time, though we do have a couple of key pieces of information to get an idea of what the story is going to entail. But first, a quick reminder of what Joker was about.

Joker was a dark story about Arthur Fleck, a clown-for-hire who had aspirations of being a stand-up comedian. Arthur suffers from mental problems that eventually led him on a downward spiral and put him in the center of a riotous city. However, the movie ends in such a way that it is open for interpretation on how much was true or if it was all part of Arthur's delusions.

We probably won't have a definitive answer to those questions until Joker: Folie à Deux comes out. But adding to those layers is the introduction of the character of Harley Quinn, a psychiatrist who becomes the Joker's girlfriend in the comics. Another interesting tidbit about the movie is that it is expected to be a musical.

Joker: Folie à Deux cast

Joaquin Phoenix returns to his Oscar-winning role as Arthur Fleck for Joker: Folie à Deux. While the 2019 movie gave Phoenix his first Oscar, the actor has been nominated multiple times before for Gladiator, Walk the Line and The Master.

Starring opposite Phoenix's Arthur Fleck/Joker is Lady Gaga in the role of Harley Quinn, which was announced in August 2022. She is the third actress to be playing Harley Quinn in recent years, following Margot Robbie in the Suicide Squad/Birds of Prey movies and Kaley Cuoco, who voices the character in the animated Harley Quinn series on HBO Max. Lady Gaga is best known as a singer, though she is also a well-regarded actress known for A Star is Born and House of Gucci.

Check out a first look at Lady Gaga in costume as Harley Quinn:

Other members of the Joker: Folie à Deux cast include Brendan Gleeson (The Banshees of Inisherin) and Catherine Keener (The Adam Project), per Deadline, as well as Jacob Lofland (The Maze Runner), according to The Hollywood Reporter. Zazie Beetz (Atlanta) is also reportedly in talks to reprise her character from Joker, Sophie Dumond, reports Deadline. 

Joker: Folie à Deux trailer

Watch the first trailer for Joker: Folie à Deux right here:

Joker: Folie à Deux first look

Director Todd Phillips shared a first look image of Joker: Folie à Deux, featuring Lady Gaga and Joaquin Phoenix. Check it out directly below: 

Todd Phillips movies

Returning to direct Joker: Folie à Deux is Todd Phillips. He was nominated for Best Director at the Oscars for the first movie, as well as one of the producers listed for Best Picture and as a co-writer for its Oscar-nominated script.

Phillips has been around for a while though, and Joker was a bit of a departure from the type of movies that he has been known for throughout his career. Take a look at Todd Phillips’ other directing credits right here:

• Frat House (1998)
• Bittersweet Motel (2000)
• Road Trip (2000)
• Old School (2003)
• Starsky & Hutch (2004)
• School for Scoundrels (2006)
• The Hangover (2009)
• Due Date (2010)
• The Hangover Part II (2011)
• The Hangover Part III (2013)
• War Dogs (2016)
• Joker (2019)

What does Joker: Folie à Deux title mean?

Folie à Deux is an interesting subhead to give to the Joker sequel. So what does it actually mean? Folie à deux is actually a medical term, defined by the National Library of Medicine as "an identical or similar mental disorder affecting two or more individuals, usually members of a close family."

Considering Joker: Folie à Deux looks to be dealing with the relationship between Joker and Harley Quinn, the term may be referring to how the two of them are connected.

How to watch Joker

If you want to watch 2019's Joker, you can do so right now on Max in the US and through digital on-demand in the UK.