It looks like the Joker sequel is about two years away from hitting theaters. In a recent Comscore update (via Deadline), Todd Phillips’s sequel, which is apparently titled Joker: Folie A Deux, was slated with an October 4th, 2024 release date. This comes at something of a fraught moment for WB/DC, with Batgirl having infamously gotten the axe, while The Flash seems to be in a permanent state of limbo thanks to the actions of a certain Ezra Miller. Joker 2 (or rather, Joker: Folie A Deux) will be another much-needed win for the studio, which would perhaps be wise to double down on their more auteur-driven superhero properties, with Matt Reeves’ The Batman, another huge winner for the studio.
We previously wrote about the sequel’s rather intriguing premise, which would set the film at Arkham Asylum, with Lady Gaga on board to play Harley Quinn. And oh yeah, it’s going to be a musical. As we explained in our last post about Joker 2, “Folie A Deux” refers to “a psychiatric syndrome in which symptoms of a delusional belief, and sometimes hallucinations, are transmitted from one individual to another.” If you know anything about Harley Quinn’s origins, where she was the Joker’s psychiatrist before going insane, this lends itself perfectly to a new origin tale for the character. The Joker movies, which are hard-R, are separate in the DC continuity from the DCEU films or The Batman.
So what do you, dear reader, think about what’s going on with WB/DC? It seems that the notion of creating a big DC Extended Universe has never really paid off for the studio the way they want it to. While they’ve had hits with solo adventures for Wonder Woman and Aquaman, they tend to run into trouble when they try to cross characters over. Perhaps more movies along the lines of Joker or The Batman are needed? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.