'Joker 2' director teases new Joaquin Phoenix, Lady Gaga photos

MANILA, Philippines — Academy Award-nominated "Joker" director Todd Phillips has shared new images of the film's upcoming sequel "Joker: Folie À Deux."

The movie will see the return of Joaquin Phoenix as the titular character, for which he won his first Oscars, opposite newcomer Lady Gaga who will play love interest Harleen Quinzel — the psychiatrist who falls in love with the Joker to become Harley Quinn in DC Comics.

Phillips had teased stills from the "Joker" sequel before, mostly of the two characters including the wrap of production earlier this year.

The new photos sees Phoenix's Arthur Fleck inside a jail cell, his head perfectly framed in the door's hole, with the E258 above it and a behind-the-scenes image of Gaga's Quinzel staring at Fleck in full Joker get-up.

"Wishing everyone a happy holiday and a beautiful new year," Phillips wrote in text accompanying the photos, teasing "Joker: Folie À Deux" would be arriving in October 2024, five years after its predecessor.

A post shared by Todd Phillips (@toddphillips)

Zazie Beetz will be reprising her role as Fleck's former neighbor Sophie, while other newcomers include Brendan Gleeson and Catherine Keener.

The original "Joker" had box office returns over a billion dollars (P55.6 billion) and had 11 nominations at the 2020 Academy Awards, its only other win being for Original Score as Hildur Guðnadóttir became the first woman to win as a solo composer. Guðnadóttir will return to score the sequel.

"Folie à deux" translates into "madness for two" or "shared madness" in English, and in medical circles is another term for shared psychosis or shared delusional disorder where two or more individuals suffer.

The term may be a reference to the Joker's chaotic madness admired by the city of Gotham as well as the introduction of Harley Quinn.

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