Joker may have been 2019's most disturbing movie, but it also was one of the year's biggest mega-hits, despite numerous controversies over its potential societal impact ahead of its release. While the one-off format of Joker's story did not provide much of a sequel set-up, Joker 2 is nevertheless now in the works, as a musical.
Joaquin Phoenix's Arthur Fleck will also be ed in Folie à Deux by the Joker's long-time love interest, Harley Quinn, with Lady Gaga taking on the role. While the Joker and Harley's extensive histories as DC characters have greatly shaped the image each holds in the public eye, the Joker sequel might not adhere strictly to their traditional portrayals. In fact, with the storytelling style originally adopted by Joker, Joker 2 seems very likely to do new things with the Joker and Harley, particularly in their romance.
Joker 2's teaser trailer clearly teases that the Joker and Harley will be a couple in the sequel. By the same token, Joker showed that audiences should take nothing at face value in the dark tale of Todd Phillips's DC films. Considering the success Joker achieved in how it reworked Mr. J into a completely new version of the character embodied by Arthur Fleck, there is also much to suggest that Joker: Folie à Deux will revamp the Joker and Harley as much as it can, which is a recipe for more amazing success.
The Joker-Harley Quinn Romance Is Usually An Abusive One
Beginning from Harley Quinn’s original introduction in Harley Quinn from Harleen Quinzel in her origin, her adoption of the Joker’s clown motif, and the general nature of their relationship have the classic hallmarks of an abusive romance.
While integrating that into Joker: Folie à Deux might seem like a foregone conclusion, the version of Mr. J that the Joker presented was an undeniably re-invented one. That does not rule out the notion of Arthur Fleck as an abusive boyfriend completely, but it also suggests that such a direct translation of the Joker-Harley romance might not work in the same way as it has traditionally been shown. Joker also offers reason to think that it should not be.
Why Joker 2 Should Change Joker & Harley Quinn's Romance
In giving the Joker a real name as Arthur Fleck with potential ties to Thomas Wayne and portraying him as a struggling, mentally ill man who snaps after a lifetime of ill fortune, Joker tells a story that borrows aspects of his traditional image while shaping him into something new. Joker also shows Arthur as having far less of a criminal mastermind or chaos-spreading terrorist mindset from past versions. The Joker and Harley’s relationship could benefit from a similar re-interpretation by way of Arthur Fleck.
By being ambiguous about the reality of its story, Joker makes a strong argument that he and Harley as a couple should take advantage of the possibilities that would present. With Arthur potentially fantasizing everything in Joker (and Joker 2 possibly confirming that all-imagined story by being a musical), the ways he and Harley relate to each other should be given a new take to catch audiences by surprise, as Joker did.
How Arthur & Harley's Romance Could Be Different
Joker portrays Arthur as a troubled man who eventually becomes a murderer over the course of the movie, but it does not present him as inherently evil or violent. Joker: Folie à Deux could play into this by showing Arthur and Harley as a couple in a genuinely loving relationship, albeit still a toxic one purely due to their criminal activity. Arthur treating Harley with kindness and care never seen before in their romance could further distinguish Joaquin Phoenix’s Arthur Fleck as a killer Joker even more as telling an Elseworlds story — Arthur Fleck as a Joker in DC’s multiverse who can maintain a romance without physical or emotional abuse. Arthur's love story with Harley also seems very likely intended to be the vehicle for Joker 2's musical elements, with Lady Gaga's musical career naturally also making her a key contributor to this side of the movie.
Joker: Folie à Deux might also re-interpret Mr. J and Harley’s connection as one similar to Arthur’s relationship with Sophie (Zazie Beetz) in Joker. With Arthur and Sophie’s romance being a delusion in Arthur’s mind, his romance with Harley in Joker 2 could be another imagined love story that ends up being shattered by the truth. There would still be a story to tell in such a scenario and one that could have the Arthur-Harley romance unfold over the course of the whole movie. Though Arthur did not kill Sophie in Joker, learning they had never dated was still a huge shock for him, and one that Joker 2 could also adapt to a movie-length romance. In doing so, the Joker’s relationship with Harley Quinn could potentially go from an abusive one to a tragic love story as a result of Arthur imagining another romance that never was.
The box office success and critical acclaim of Joker made a Joker 2 understandably enticing from a studio perspective, but as Todd Phillips stipulated, a compelling story would be required to bring Arthur Fleck back to cinemas. While Phillips's full plans for the Joker sequel cannot be fully determined yet, the fact that the movie is both a musical and one that brings Harley Quinn into the story offers a huge amount of new elements. With all of that on the table and the new personification of the Joker, Arthur Fleck, represented, the musical story of Joker 2 seems very unlikely to show him and Harley as recognizable recreations of their classical selves. The Joker and Harley's love for each other might be a lot warmer but still told in a very dark story in Joker: Folie à Deux, and the musical sequel is likely to be a very new and original Joker and Harley story for that reason.
