A behind-the-scenes video from Joker: Folie á Deux shows what may become of the infamous Arkham.
Shared to Instagram, the video is from a night shoot of the movie's New Jersey set. It shows Arkham State Hospital, the facility where Penny Fleck (Frances Conroy) was institutionalized and where Arthur Fleck/Joker (Joaquin Phoenix) was imprisoned at the end of the previous film, on fire as alarms blare. Previous set photos showed Fleck free from the confines of Arkham and tease the arrival of even more Jokers in Gotham City.
Everything We Know About Joker 2 So Far
Already a subject of interest after the success of the first film, Folie á Deux surprised fans with the announcement that the sequel would be a musical and that Lady Gaga would be joining the cast Harley Quinn, a psychiatrist at Arkham who falls in love with Fleck. According to an inside source, Harley's characterization will diverge from her comic book origin and will portray the character as Fleck's "patient [and] peer." Additionally, it's rumored that writer/director Todd Phillips will shoot multiple endings to Joker 2.
Cinematographer Lawrence Sher offered his praise for Gaga's performance in Folie á Deux. "[She's] going to be a really cool fit for this movie and will create a similar kind of magic that Joaquin brought by himself," he said. "The combination of the two will be exactly what we hope, which is exciting, and we’ll find magic every day on set. Hopefully, we’ll also have a bit of madness in there. We like when there is a little bit of chaos." Other actors joining the cast include Zazie Beetz reprising her role as Fleck's neighbor Sophie Dumond, Jacob Lofland as an Arkham inmate who develops a relationship with Fleck and Catherine Keener, Harry Lawtey and Brendan Gleeson in unknown roles.
Folie á Deux comes amid a shake-up at DC Studios, with producers James Gunn and Peter Safran developing a new slate of projects starring the World's Finest heroes and villains. However, the pair have confirmed that both the Joker movies and Matt Reeves' The Batman series will be considered Elseworlds stories and won't be affected by the new DCU's plans. Gunn himself also offered his support for Gaga's casting as Harley, saying "I'm really interested to see what Todd Phillips cooks up. I met Lady Gaga once & she was really nice, so I'm always rooting for nice people to do well."
Joker: Folie á Deux is set to hit theaters on Oct 4, 2024.
Source: Instagram