After a disastrous 2023 for the DC brand, Warner Bros. hopes to deliver at least one hit comic book movie this year with Joker: Folie à Deux.
2019's Joker grossed over $1 billion on a modest $55 million budget. However, with reports swirling that the sequel cost upwards of $200 million, the studio will surely be hoping it hasn't allowed filmmaker Todd Phillips to indulge too much with this follow-up. After all, musicals are a tough sell at the best of times and comic book adaptations have struggled greatly post-COVID.
We'll see what happens, but when the first teaser trailer dropped last month, one of the biggest surprises was an appearance from British actor and filmmaker Steve Coogan.
Best known in the UK for portraying comedy icon Alan Partridge, his film and television credits include Hot Fuzz, Tropic Thunder, Minions, the Night at the Museum franchise, Happyish, and The Reckoning.
Talking at the BAFTA TV Awards yesterday evening, Coogan was asked what he could reveal about his Joker: Folie à Deux role.
"Can I tell you more about it? I'm in it," he started. "I have a very interesting scene with Joaquin Phoenix. I play a sort of a CNN-type reporter who interviews him in his cell. Beyond that, I don't know. I've not seen it. I'm as in the dark as anyone else."
The last time Arthur Fleck was interviewed, it ended very badly for the host (Robert De Niro's Murray Franklin), so we're sure this scene is definitely "interesting."
We've previously heard that the sequel will take place primarily in Arkham Asylum, with Arthur Fleck (Joaquin Phoenix) meeting a kindred spirit in fellow patient Harleen Quinzel/Harley Quinn (Lady Gaga). However, with the trailer showing both Arthur and Harley on the loose in Gotham City, we're guessing there will come a point where they're freed to wreak havoc.
Joker: Folie à Deux, which will fall under the "Elseworlds" banner and isn't part of DC Studios' new DCU, is set to be released in theaters on October 4, 2024, exactly five years after Joker debuted.
You can check out the full interview with Coogan in the X post below.