In 2019, Joker was released to positive reviews, record-breaking box office numbers, and even serious awards recognition. Rumblings of a sequel have persisted ever since, but filmmaker Todd Phillips finally confirmed that he and Joaquin Phoenix are moving ahead with Joker: Folie à Deux in an Instagram post shared last week.
Since then, we've heard that Lady Gaga is an early frontrunner to play Harley Quinn, while there's even talk of the movie being a musical. We have faith in the team that delivered Joker prior to the pandemic, but it's clear that, like its predecessor, this is going to be one seriously bonkers outing for the Clown Prince of Crime.
Adding Harley to the mix makes a lot of sense, but what other DC Comics characters should appear? That first movie made use of some big names, and while Phillips isn't exactly embracing the source material, he can put a fresh spin on some familiar faces. It's those we're taking a look at here, though some of the names listed might surprise you.
To take a look through these characters, all you guys need to do is click on the "Next" button below!
6. Gaggy
Way back in the 1940s and 1950s, The Joker had a sidekick called Gagsworth "Gaggy" Gagsworthy. He was a little person who DC Comics has revisited on a handful of occasions, though there is a lot of politically incorrect comic book imagery out there (including him dancing to entertain his boss and getting KO'd by Batman).
There are means of adapting him in a respectful way, though, and regardless of his stature, Gaggy becoming one of The Joker's first followers might provide Phillips with a legitimately fascinating dynamic to explore.
He even showed up at one point to take aim at Harley Quinn for taking the fun-loving Joker and moulding him into a psychopath. If she's going to become the latest person to manipulate Arthur Fleck, perhaps this pal from his stint in Arkham will get involved in an effort to save his "friend"?
5. Professor Pyg
While Joker was very much grounded in reality, the movie ended in a way that would allow Gotham City to descend into madness. After all, a man dressed as a clown inspired people to rise up and fight against the system, something that would culminate with the murders of Thomas and Martha Wayne.
We racked our brains for a logical choice of Batman villain to appear here, and Professor Pyg just feels like an oddly suitable pick. A deranged scientist who performs twisted surgeries on his victims, Pyg tries to make his subjects "perfect," transforming them into his unwilling followers in the process.
We're not suggesting that Arthur be portrayed as a hero in this movie, but if a greater threat emerges for him to have to stop or Phillips just wants to show us what sort of madmen he's inspired, the Professor is our top pick. With an R-Rating, the filmmaker could make Pyg someone to truly fear in this sequel too.
4. Jim Gordon
The GCPD had a presence in Joker, but with Arthur no doubt on the loose again, now might be the time for a real cop to take aim at the Harlequin of Hate.
Jim Gordon is a character we've spent a lot of time with, and there are currently two actors playing him for Warner Bros. (Jeffrey Wright in The Batman franchise and J.K. Simmons in Batgirl). A third might seem like overkill, but not if Phillips can find a way to deliver a fresh interpretation. Just look at how Thomas Wayne was given a fresh lick of paint back in 2019!
Jim could work in Arkham or even be a cop let go from the force who decides to take matters into his own hands when Gotham once again descends into madness. Fans have certain expectations from this character, so turning those on their head would be no bad thing.
3. Poison Ivy
We're all expecting this Joker sequel to explore the Harlequin of Hate's twisted romance with Harley Quinn, but we've seen that on countless occasions now. While there's certainly room to do more with it (more than Suicide Squad did, anyway), it would be a blast to throw Poison Ivy into the mix as Harley's actual love interest.
Perhaps she and Ivy will have their own plan for Gotham, using the naive and deranged Arthur simply as a means of getting what they want? They'd make for one heck of a power couple, anyway.
Talking of powers, it should probably go without saying that this Ivy wouldn't share her comic book counterpart's fantastical abilities. There's room to have fun with her obsession to save the environment, though, and Phillips could use Ivy's story as a means of commenting on the sort of fanatism a strong belief system can lead someone to.
2. Leslie Thompkins
Joker is a very different beast to something like The Batman, hence why we're not listing characters like Killer Croc, Mister Freeze, and Red Hood! However, in terms of minor supporting characters, Dr. Leslie Thompkins is someone who might bring a lot to a movie such as this.
In the comic books, she's a close ally of Batman's who operates out of the toughest part of Gotham's criminal slums. She was also a colleague of Thomas Wayne and a close friend to the Wayne family for years, so you can probably see how that might come into play here.
Whether it's as Harley Quinn's boss, Bruce Wayne's psychiatrist, or even Arkham Asylum's Warden, you can't deny that this is a character worth plucking from obscurity. Heck, even if her name is ultimately little more than an Easter Egg for hardcore comic book fans, it seems worth doing.
1. Batman
We don't know if Joker: Folie à Deux will feature any sort of time jump, but it will have to pick up with Bruce Wayne in some way, right? At the end of the first movie, a man dressed as a clown - inspired by Fleck's actions - gunned down Thomas and Martha Wayne in front of their young son. Something tells us he might want revenge.
Many believe that title (meaning a delusion or mental illness shared by two people in close association) refers to The Joker and Harley Quinn, but what if it's actually The Joker and Batman?
Just as Phillips found a way to reinvent and ground the Clown Prince of Crime in reality, Batman is a character he could do the exact same thing with. That probably won't involve a badass costume and fancy gadgets, but it would almost certainly explore the fact the Dark Knight is every bit as mad as his greatest foe.