Oscar winner Lady Gaga, who most recently appeared in Ridley Scott’s House of Gucci, is in early talks to star opposite Joaquin Phoenix in Warner Bros.’ Joker: Folie à Deux, Deadline can confirm. While Phoenix’s deal for the new Joker film has not yet been signed, we hear that he is in advanced talks.
Details as to the Joker sequel’s plot have thus far been kept under wraps, though we know that Todd Phillips is returning as director. As was the case on the original film, he co-wrote the script with Scott Silver. We hear that Gaga will play Harley Quinn — the Arkham Asylum shrink who falls in love with her patient Arthur Fleck aka Joker — though her version of the character will be a DC universe apart from Margot Robbie’s in the Suicide Squad films.
Phillips’ Joker, unveiled in 2019, watched as Fleck, a mentally troubled stand-up comedian, embarked on a downward spiral that led to the creation of an iconic villain. The film grossed more than $1 billion worldwide and brought Phoenix his first Oscar, also landing Hildur Guðnadóttir a statuette for Best Original Score.
Gaga notably found her breakout film role in Warner Bros.’ musical drama A Star Is Born from actor-director Bradley Cooper, which Phillips also produced. The actress and pop star more recently portrayed Patrizia Reggiani in MGM and United Artists Releasing’s House of Gucci and contributed the song “Hold My Hand” to Top Gun: Maverick, which has currently grossed more than $750 million at the worldwide box-office.
Gaga is repped by CAA and manager Bobby Campbell.