Lady Gaga Could Fail to Beat Margot Robbie’s Record If Joker 2 Director Todd Phillips Sticks to His One Philosophy

In the world of movies, some actors are always associated with certain roles by the audience, and sometimes their expectations go beyond the actors’ control. As for the role of Harley Quinn, Margot Robbie has already set the bar high. Now, Lady Gaga has taken on the challenge of portraying Quinn in Joker: Folie à Deux.

The sequel to Joker brings Joaquin Phoenix back as the Joker. The movie will be a psychological thriller with an added element of music this time. However, as director Todd Phillips has a certain vision for his movies, it looks like Gaga’s future as Harley Quinn might be in doubt.

Todd Phillips On a Standalone Harley Quinn Movie

Joker: Folie à Deux is set two years after the events of the first film. Arthur Fleck has a relationship with Lady Gaga‘s Lee Quinzel after becoming a patient at Arkham State Hospital. Gaga’s version of Harley Quinn is going to be quite different from the earlier ones that fans have seen.

In an interview with Variety, Todd Phillips said that while Robbie’s Quinn was chaotic and playful, Gaga’s version excluded a significant part of those features. For Joker 2, Phillips wanted Gaga’s Quinn to fit into the gritty, dark world created in Joker, which is why he made her less animated and more psychological.

Recently, the director was asked in an interview with Variety about a solo movie focusing on Gaga’s Harley Quinn. Phillips dismissed the idea, but his response also left a possibility. 

For me, I’ve always thought that these two movies exist as their own thing. And no, I know you’re trying to get the next thing, but I don’t want to go into that.

This stance is different from what was done with Margot Robbie’s Quinn. Robbie is the only actress who got her own Harley Quinn film, Birds of Prey, which showed the life of Quinn after her breakup with the Joker. She shares the screen with other antagonists of Gotham to fight crime lord Roman Sionis.

However, it seems like Gaga will fail to surpass Robbie’s influence on the character if she doesn’t get more movies to portray her own version fully. Although her fans want to see Quinn’s developments, limiting her to only one film may leave them feeling shortchanged.

Harley Quinn’s Future in the DC Universe

Although Phillips seems to be ruling out a Lady Gaga Harley Quinn spinoff as of now, the character seems to have a bright future in the broader DCU. Earlier, James Gunn shared some good news on Threads for fans of Margot Robbie’s Quinn.

I haven’t talked to Margot about Harley for a long time. But I’d love to work with her again as Harley or as someone else. There are no plans at this time for anyone else to play Harley (I mean, other than in Todd’s movie or the animated show/s.)

From Gunn’s statement, Robbie might reprise her role in other projects under DCU in the future. One such prospect is the upcoming Waller series for Max. Now, since Harley has worked with Amanda Waller in the Suicide Squad films, there just could be a chance that Robbie may revisit her here.

Another potential show for Robbie’s DCU entrance could be Peacemaker season 2. This would help in further interaction between Harley and John Cena’s Peacemaker from The Suicide Squad.

Although the specifics of Harley Quinn’s DCU future are not revealed yet, Gunn has provided some hope for Robbie fans. It appears that there is an open possibility for Harley Quinn to be represented by several actors in different DC projects.

Joker: Folie à Deux will be internationally released on October 2, 2024, and domestically on October 4, 2024.