Lady Gaga as Harley Quinn in Joker: Folie à Deux (2024), Warner Bros. Pictures

Todd Philips, the director for Joker: Folie à Deux, recently shared that Lady Gaga’s Harley Quinn in the film is just Harley Quinn in name only.

Lady Gaga as Harley Quinn and Joaquin Phoenix as Joker in Joker: Folie à Deux (2024), Warner Bros. Pictures

Philips told Variety, “The high voice, that accent, the gum-chewing and all that sort of sassy stuff that’s in the comics, we stripped that away.”

“We wanted her to fit into this world of Gotham that we created from the first movie,” he explained.

Variety’s Brent Lang also revealed that Gaga’s Harley Quinn or Harleen “Lee” Quinzel is a patient in the psych ward where Joaquin Phoenix’s Arthur Fleck is being held and facing the death penalty. One aspect that is similar to the comics is that she “is obsessed with him — or, rather, his alter ego, Joker.”

As for what the film actually is, Gaga told the outlet, “Todd took a very big swing with this whole concept and with the script, giving the sequel to ‘Joker’ this audacity and complexity. There’s music, there’s dance, it’s a drama, it’s also a courtroom drama, it’s a comedy, it’s happy, it’s sad.”

“It’s a testament to [Todd] as a director, that he would rather be creative than just tell a traditional story of love,” she said.

Lady Gaga as Harley Quinn in Joker: Folie à Deux (2024), Warner Bros. Pictures

Lang also shared that the movie begins “with a Looney Tunes-inspired cartoon starring the Joker (courtesy of “The Triplets of Belleville” animator Sylvain Chomet) before hurtling through prison riots, courtroom faceoffs and a variety-show sequence that finds Phoenix and Gaga portraying a homicidal Sonny & Cher.”

Philips commented, “The goal of this movie is to make it feel like it was made by crazy people. The inmates are running the asylum.”

To that point, Fleck will abandon the medications he’s been prescribed in the psych ward and “prances into a fantasy world that often plays like the MGM musicals of yesteryear on acid.”

Joaquin Phoenix as Arthur Fleck in Joker: Folie à Deux (2024), Warner Bros. Pictures

As for the musicals they will feature a variety of songs including “Get Happy,” “For Once in My Life,” and “That’s Life.” Of note it appears that Philips will swap the dynamic between Joker and Harley Quinn that was showcased in Batman: The Animated Series and the comics.

Phoenix’s Arthur Fleck will prefer romantic ballads conveying his desire for a romantic relationship with Quinn while Gaga’s Quinzel will prefer songs about power. One caveat, is that most of the songs take place in the character’s imaginations.

Interestingly, Philips shared that the various songs in the film are “really just dialogue.” He explained, “It’s just Arthur not having the words to say what he wants to say, so he sings them instead.”

Lady Gaga as Harley Quinn and Joaquin Phoenix as Joker in Joker: Folie à Deux (2024), Warner Bros. Pictures

As for some of the themes the film will explore, Philips shared that he wants to explore how everything has become entertainment.

He explained, “It’s all been corrupted. Look at the recent presidential debate: There’s a countdown clock and these gladiatorial graphics. Or take the Johnny Depp and Amber Heard trial. Everything is just treated as entertainment now, and there’s something sad and troubling about that.”

Joaquin Phoenix as Arthur Fleck in Joker: Folie à Deux (2024), Warner Bros. Pictures

The film will explore this theme through Fleck’s trial and his courtroom antics. In fact, Philips compared Fleck to President Donald Trump. Lang wrote, “And Phillips, for his part, sees similarities between Joker’s hold on his disaffected followers and the former president’s popular appeal.”

Philips stated, “Think what you want to about Trump, but for the certain segment of society that’s in love with him, he’s a guy who’s just saying what he wants to say and doing what he wants to do. He is who he is, and people respond to that.”

Lady Gaga as Harley Quinn and Joaquin Phoenix as Joker in Joker: Folie à Deux (2024), Warner Bros. Pictures

What do you make of Philips’ comments regarding Harley Quinn?