Brendan Gleeson Joins Joker 2 With Joaquin Phoenix And Lady…

Brendan Gleeson is an acclaimed and accomplished actor, and now he will bring his talent to Warner Bros. And Todd Phillips' Joker: Folie à Deux with Academy Award winners Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga.

Deadline broke the news of Gleeson joining Joker 2, but there are currently no details on who the revered actor will portray when he joins Phoenix and Gaga in the highly-anticipated DC sequel. Warner Bros. Reportedly has no comment on Gleeson's casting.

In addition to Phoenix and Gaga, Gleeson will join returning Joker star Zazie Beetz, who reprises her role as Sophie Dumond, the neighbour of Arthur Fleck with whom he develops an imaginary relationship before fully descending into madness. Plot details for Joker 2 are being kept under wraps, but insiders say the film has musical elements. The story will also reportedly be set in Arkham Asylum, which is where Arthur Fleck was last seen in the first Joker film. Production on Joker 2 is slated to begin in December 2023, with Phillips returning to the director's chair in addition to co-writing the script with Scott Silver, who also co-penned the first film.

As with Gleeson's role, the identity of Gaga's character in Joker 2 remains a mystery. However, fans suspect she may be playing Harley Quinn, which would add credence to the reports on the Arkham Asylum set. After all, most depictions of the Joker and Harley Quinn relationship start with the two meeting at Arkham when the latter is a psychiatric intern, which leads to them falling in love and starting a twisted romance that prompts Quinn to break the Clown Prince of Crime out of the asylum.

The first Joker was met with acclaim from some and criticism from others. While one set of moviegoers praised Joker as a unique and more mature comic book film, others decried it as a poor imitation of better Martin Scorsese films like Taxi Driver and The King of Comedy. Nonetheless, Joker grossed over $1 billion at the box office and earned Academy Awards for Phoenix's performance and Hildur Guðnadóttir's score.

Whether or not Joker 2 being a musical can win over the naysayers remains to be seen. However, the addition of an award-winning performer like Gleeson may be enough to entice fans of his work into theaters to see what he brings to the DC sequel.

Joker: Folie à Deux is scheduled to be released in theaters on October 4, 2024.