In a special Valentine's Day treat for fans, director Todd Philips has taken to Instagram to drop the first official image of Lady Gaga opposite Joaquin Phoenix in the highly anticipated film, Joker: Folie à Deux.
Joker: Folie à Deux is of course the sequel to 2019's monster hit Joker, which went on to become the first R-rated film to cross a billion dollars at the global box office.
The follow-up will see Joaquin Phoenix return to the role which won him his first Oscar for Best Actor, with Gaga reportedly set to offer an alternate take on Joker's main squeeze, Harley Quinn.
Released with impeccable timing for Valentine's Day, you can check out the image of Harley (or is it Harleen Quinzel?) and Joker (a.k.a. Arthur Fleck) together below.
A very different take on Harley
Gaga's casting in the Joker sequel was confirmed back in August last year, however, this is the first time we've been given a glimpse of what the Oscar-winning performer's version of the character is going to be like.
Based on the image above, it's safe to assume that Gaga's Harley will be much more grounded in gritty reality than Margot Robbie's version, which has previously appeared in Suicide Squad, Birds of Prey, The Suicide Squad and Zack Snyder's Justice League.
As for where Joker: Folie à Deux stands in the new James Gunn / Peter Safran-led DCU future, it seems like not much will change — Gunn recently explained that upcoming films like Joker 2 and The Batman 2 will be part of a new sub-label known as DC Elseworlds, which will exist "outside of the mainstream DCU continuity."
Joker: Folie à Deux is set to release on October 4, 2024. In the meantime, you can watch HBO's hilarious Harley Quinn animated series online right now, or rewatch the first Joker film on HBO Max.
