Joker 2: Release date, cast, title, trailer and more

Now, the actor is back to play Arthur Fleck in a sequel – which takes a drastically different approach by becoming a musical of sorts. Reviews have again been rather mixed – skewing more negatively this time around – but our own critic gave it a 4-star verdict, which you can read below.

The first trailer for Joker 2 was released back in April, before a new teaser landed in July 2024, with both trailers giving fans a first look at the relationship between Arthur Fleck and Lady Gaga's Lee Quinzel, as well as teasing the musical nature of the film.

Interestingly ,Gaga recently revealed that Phoenix didn't particularly enjoy singing live for the film, explaining during an appearance on The Graham Norton Show that he "did not like it at first, which was hard, but he did it and was phenomenal".

Of course, Phoenix and Gaga aren't the only big names to star in the film. They're joined in the cast by familiar faces like Brendan Gleeson and Steve Coogan, returning stars such as Zazie Beetz, and Industry breakout Harry Lawtey – whose role as classic comic book character Harvey Dent was recently teased in some new footage.

With the film now out, here's everything you need to know about Joker: Folie à Deux before heading to the pictures.

Joker 2 release date

Joker: Folie à Deux is now in cinemas – having been released on Friday 4th October 2024.

The release comes exactly five years on from the original Joker's opening, after the sequel also followed in that first film's footsteps by bagging a major festival premiere at Venice Film Festival – where the first film was the surprise winner of the prestigious Golden Lion.

The film's title was first confirmed as far back as June 2022, and is taken from the French idiom meaning 'madness of two' which refers to a delusional disorder shared by two people in close association. Much like the Joker and Harley Quinn, then.

Who is in the cast of Joker 2?

The cast members confirmed for Joker: Folie à Deux are the following:

• Joaquin Phoenix as Joker/Arthur Fleck
• Lady Gaga as Harley Quinn/Harleen Quinzel
• Zazie Beetz as Sophie Dumond
• Harry Lawtey as Harvey Dent
• Catherine Keener as Maryanne Stewart
• Brendan Gleeson as Jackie Sullivan
• Steve Coogan as Paddy Meyers
• Ken Leung as Dr. Victor Liu
• Jacob Lofland as Ricky Meline

Phoenix will be returning once again for his role as the Joker/Arthur Fleck.

The actor played the critically acclaimed role in 2019, bagging the Best Actor Oscar for his portrayal of the troubled DC villain.

Meanwhile, Lady Gaga has been cast as Joker's legendary love interest Harley Quinn – leaving the possibility open that Phillips will reinvent Harley’s character, rather than adhering to the source material from the DC comics or following version of the role played by Margot Robbie in the Suicide Squad films and Birds of Prey.

In addition, actress Zazie Beetz is also making a comeback as Sophie Dumond.

Meanwhile, joining the cast for Joker 2 is also Industry's Harry Lawtey (Industry) who, as revealed in the film's second trailer, is playing Harvey Dent.

Catherine Keener (Get Out), Jacob Lofland (Maze Runner), Brendan Gleeson (The Banshees of Inisherin), Steve Coogan (Alan Partidge) and Ken Leung (Lost) will also all star.

Coogan previously opened up about his character, revealing: "I have a very interesting scene with Joaquin Phoenix. I play sort of a CNN type reporter who interviews him in his cell."

Robert De Niro and Frances Conroy will not return as Murray and Penny, as they were killed by Arthur in the first film.

Meanwhile, one star who won't be appearing in the film despite previously expressing interest is Willem Dafoe.

Back in 2022, he told GQ: "There is something interesting about, like, if there was a Joker imposter. So it would be possible to have not duelling Jokers but someone that [claims] to be the Joker that isn't the Joker.

"And that kind of opens up the possibility of an interesting story, particularly if you had Joaquin Phoenix’s Joker, and then you had someone who was either imitating or riffing off what he did. I fantasised about that. But other than that I am not talking to anybody [about it], you're the first one."

Is Joker 2 a musical?

Joker 2 might be set to feature a range of song covers, but the film is not a musical, at least, not according to its cast and director Todd Phillips.

Phillips previously explained that, while the film has a lot of DNA from musicals in it, he is hesitant to actually call it a musical.

"Most of the music in the movie is really just dialogue. It's just Arthur not having the words to say what he wants to say, so he sings them instead," he told Variety.

"I just don't want people to think that it's like In the Heights, where the lady in the bodega starts to sing and they take it out onto the street, and the police are dancing. No disrespect, because I loved In the Heights."

"It was important to me that we never perform the songs as one typically does in a musical," Phoenix added. "We didn't want vibrato and perfect notes."

Meanwhile, at the Venice press conference, Lady Gaga said: "I wouldn't necessarily say that this is actually a musical", and that "the music is used to really give the characters a way to express what they need to say because the scene and dialogue is just not enough".

Well, sounds an awful lot like a musical to us...

What happens in Joker 2?

*Warning: There are spoilers for Joker ahead.*

An official synopsis has now been released for the film, and while it doesn't give a lot away, it does hint to where the story is set to go.

The synopsis says: "Joker: Folie À Deux finds Arthur Fleck institutionalised at Arkham awaiting trial for his crimes as Joker. While struggling with his dual identity, Arthur not only stumbles upon true love, but also finds the music that's always been inside him."

We already knew that the film would be a twisted love story that follows Arthur Fleck after he meets Harley Quinn while incarcerated at Arkham State Hospital.

At the end of Joker, Arthur Fleck had become his full Batman villain self after tearing through Gotham City following his disastrous appearance on Murray Franklin's talk show.

The film ended with Arthur in the aforementioned Arkham State Hospital, skipping away from his psychotherapy session leaving bloody footprints behind.

Of course, we know that the Clown Prince of Crime goes on to become, arguably, Batman's biggest nemesis, so there's certainly scope for more of Arthur's character and villainous actions to be explored.

Bruce Wayne only appeared as a child in Joker, which appeared to be a deliberate move to keep the focus firmly on Arthur. Could a sequel bring in an antagonist for Fleck?

And then there's the musical aspect, of course, which adds another intriguing ingredient into the mix. It certainly looks like the film is going to be unmissable one way or another.

Is there a trailer for the Joker sequel?

Yes! The first trailer was finally released for the film in April 2024 and within 24 hours had already managed more than 167 million views – so we certainly wouldn't bet against this being another major hit.

You can watch the trailer, which gives us a good glimpse at both Arthur and Harley's twisted love story and the musical nature of the film, below:

A second trailer was then released in July 2024, which you can watch here:

Joker: Folie à Deux is out now in cinemas.

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