Director Todd Phillips has found his Harley Quinn in Lady Gaga for Joker 2, which is properly titled Joker: Folie à Deux, and the choice couldn’t have been better. Even though Margot Robbie does a great job as Harley in Suicide Squad and Kaley Cuoco does a great job as Harley Quinn in the cartoon series, Lady Gaga was born to play the character, far more than any of the others she’s played.
Since the release of her first song, “Just Dance,” in 2008, Lady Gaga has been at the forefront of the entertainment business. She is not only a talented singer and dancer, but also an accomplished actress. She is an icon, a person who often comes across as more of a caricature than a real being; hence, the mere appeal of her turn as such a famous figure is sufficient to bring people’s attention to her performance. And when you take into account the fact that Harley Quinn is supposed to speak with a Brooklyn accent, and Lady Gaga is from New York (and regularly demonstrates that she can already make what is essentially a Harley impersonation), it’s difficult to see anybody else playing the part of Harley Quinn.
In addition, Gaga has previously shown that she is capable of delivering an outstanding performance on film (she was nominated for an Academy Award for her part in A Star Is Born), and that she is prepared to go to considerable measures in order to get into the appropriate frame of mind for a job. She lived as her role for a period of 18 months before to the production of House of Gucci in 2021, during which time she often spoke with an Italian accent. When Joaquin Phoenix was preparing for his part as Arthur Fleck in the first Joker film, he utilized a similar strategy to prepare for the role. He embarked on a diet that was stringent and controversial, which resulted in his losing almost 50 pounds.
The fact that Joker 2 will be a musical is a significant revelation, and it comes as somewhat of a surprise. It is thus not surprising that they chose Lady Gaga; it is abundantly clear that she has the skills to dance, sing, and act, and the thought of the possibilities excites my imagination.
