Filming for Todd Phillips’ Joker: Folie à Deux is well underway, providing us our first glimpse at Lady Gaga’s Harley Quinn, who’s confirmed to appear in the sequel as the partner-in-crime to Joaquin Phoenix’s Arthur Fleck/Joker. Further set photos have confirmed that Harvey Dent/Two-Face will also grace us with his presence, as seen in a leaked image featuring several extras with hand-made signs that read: “Dent is a clown.” We’re assuming that isn’t the end of the cameos, nor does Phillips wish to restrict Folie à Deux to a handful of supervillains. He’s got the creative freedom and unwavering support from fans following the success of 2019’s Joker, so the possibilities are quite literally endless.
Entirely separate from the overarching DCU, albeit based on the characters from DC Comics, Phillips’ Joker-verse can afford to bend the rules a little bit in the name of originality and flair. Joker acted as the origin story for Arthur Fleck, now known to Gothamites as the titular Batman villain after shooting Murray Franklin point-blank on live TV and inciting a citywide riot against an oppressive society and justice system. That sets the stage perfectly for Harvey Dent, the White Knight, to make an appearance even briefly. But who else might be joining Arthur Fleck’s gang of degenerates?
Poison Ivy
There’s no Harley Quinn without Poison Ivy. Wherever Harleen Quinzel roams, Pamela Isley isn’t far behind. Presuming Phillips adheres to Harleen’s comic origins, we’ll see Dr. Quinzel working at Arkham Asylum and likely interacting with the low-lives rejected by the community. We won’t get our hopes up for more than mere seconds of an Ivy cameo, playing out more as an “ah-ha!” moment rather than a full-fledged role. After all, Folie à Deux was conceived to be Joker and Harley centric, that much is clear. Still, who’s to say that a well-timed argument with her deranged boyfriend doesn’t land Harley Quinn right in Poison Ivy’s lap? Either that, or we’ll see Pamela Isley rotting away in Arkham Asylum when Dr. Quinzel passes by her cell, more likely than not exchanging a few words in passing. Let’s not keep our fingers crossed too soon; three’s a crowd and whatnot.
Bane
Often portrayed — especially in the Batman: Arkham game series and several comic-book arcs — as a close associate to Joker, it stands to reason Bane would cross paths with the newly reborn Clown Prince of Crime at some stage. Given Fleck’s premature transition into Joker (before Bruce Wayne has even grown to adulthood), we’ll assume, according to the timeline, that any supervillains emerging around the same time are either recently reformed or have yet to transition into their alter-egos. By that logic, Bane would be yet to undergo experiments involving the Venom steroid, so Arthur Fleck would — if he ever does — meet Bane as the escaped convict from Peña Duro, otherwise known as the unchallenged “King” of the prison compound after building his physical strength and endurance. The beauty of Phillips’ universe lies in its spontaneity; Bane could arrive in Gotham as a wanted man and forge an alliance with the Joker to evade law enforcement — no explanation needed.
Scarecrow
Considering that Matt Reeves’ The Batman 2 has been rumored to include Scarecrow, it wouldn’t make much sense for Todd Phillips to try and compete. However, Reeves’ sequel has been slated for a 2025 release, so the fortune is certainly in Phillips’ favor. Nothing like stamping out the competition by bringing a long-awaited character to live-action, especially if Scarecrow’s emergence is memorable enough to topple Reeves’ attempts. Our most recent iteration of Dr. Crane was a stint from Vincent Kartheiser on season three of Titans and, honestly, we wouldn’t call the portrayal groundbreaking, so Scarecrow is long overdue for an impactful debut. There’s more wiggle room for Scarecrow to fly under the radar in Joker: Folie à Deux than someone like Bane, who isn’t exactly subtle. Just like Dr. Quinzel, maybe Crane is in his prime, studying toxicology and chemistry as a protégé before learning of the Joker’s antics and deciding to join in on the mayhem.
Riddler
Reeves got there first, so we’ll say that the Riddler — of all the DC antagonists — will be least likely to appear in Joker: Folie à Deux. After Paul Dano’s scene-stealing performance in The Batman, it would be career suicide for Phillips to even dream of adapting the puzzler so soon afterward. That’s not to say that our resident brainiac Edward Nashton won’t be featured in another sequel down the pipeline, but as for Folie à Deux, the chances are slim. It feels too soon for Nashton/Nygma to be planting his perplexing puzzles, especially since Bruce Wayne isn’t even knee-high to a grasshopper yet. There’s also the matter of Joker’s rivalry with the Riddler, as chronicled in Tom King’s The War of Jokes and Riddles, wherein the Clown Prince and the Prince of Conundrums become mortal enemies while feuding for the ultimate honor — who will kill the Batman? Something tells us that Arthur Fleck isn’t ready to share the stage just yet, but we’ll be leaving the door wide open for the future.
Penguin
There’s no beating Danny DeVito or Colin Farrell as the Penguin, but there’s nothing stopping Todd Phillips from giving it the good old college try. This is another instance where Matt Reeves beat Phillips to the mark, featuring Farrell’s Penguin quite heavily in The Batman as a deuteragonist to Paul Dano’s Riddler. He doesn’t need to be hugely involved in the narrative for the Joker sequel, however, as Phillips could just as easily slot in a reference to the Iceberg Lounge or introduce Joker and Harley Quinn to the club’s esteemed host. It seems a bit too soon after The Batman for Cobblepot to be wreaking havoc on Gotham City, so sometimes, all it takes is a little nod to DC Comics’ history. That’s not to say that, again, the Penguin can’t have a more prominent role in future sequels, but as for now, it might be a bit tasteless so close to Farrell’s iteration.
Mad Hatter
It shouldn’t come as a shock for someone with the word “mad” in their name to be on friendly terms with the Harlequin of Hate himself. There’s a level of disturbing that the Joker admires — one which he’s yet to attain — and Jervis Tetch is the living embodiment of it. Several times in DC Comics history, the Joker has complimented the Mad Hatter’s methods, but while the Joker has no qualms taking things to the extreme, even he admits Tetch’s strange obsession with younger victims is pushing it. The Mad Hatter does far more than just kill for sport; he strips his prey of their free will, toying with their minds and zombifying them to live out his own twisted fantasies. We wouldn’t need much of an explanation as to why Jervis is in Gotham or how he got there, we’d just be thrilled to see a live-action Hatter that (hopefully) isn’t wasted potential. He’s one of Batman’s lesser-known villains, so Phillips could capitalize on that ambiguity with ease.
Punchline
Another obscure Batman villain comes in the form of Punchline, Harley Quinn’s replacement after she and Joker call it quits for the umpteenth time. After Joker and Harley’s falling out, Joker appoints a new henchwoman and partner-in-crime by the name of Punchline, a moniker chosen to reflect how all “jokes” end. Punchline serves as an inverse to Harley Quinn, so therein lies the opportunity to bring her into the fold in Folie à Deux, even if for a brief moment during an altercation or as a plot device to drive Harley into a jealous rage. If not, even just the mere mention of Punchline would do the trick. She meets the Joker online, then becomes his mentee after he teaches her to make Joker Venom. There’s nothing stopping Arthur Fleck from perusing the world wide web and entertaining one of his most devoted fans, so that’s Phillips’ moment to do what no other live-action venture has done before.
Victor Zsasz
We’ll admit that Victor Zsasz is a tad overused. He appeared in Fox’s Gotham, then more recently Birds of Prey, so he isn’t in as desperate demand as some of the others, but as much as he’s been given the attention he deserves, it’s never enough. Zsasz might be beyond Phillips’ wheelhouse, especially as he’s a sadomasochistic serial killer that might be too on-the-nose for his Joker-verse, which is still testing the waters on how mature themes are handled. Both Joker and Zsasz spent time in Arkham Asylum, so that could be the ideal meeting point if Phillips were to take the plunge. Just like the Harley/Ivy route, maybe Joker encounters Zsasz by chance in Arkham and strikes up a conversation to manipulate him for his own selfish gain. This ties in with Riddler’s story, potentially, as Zsasz sides with Joker during The War of Jokes and Riddles.
Published: Mar 30, 2023 08:53 am