Lady Gaga Casting In Joker 2 Might Rip Families Apart

The sequel nobody wanted has led to a possible best-case scenario for casting. If Lady Gaga becomes Harley Quinn, opposite Joaquin Phoenix in Joker 2, it could be awesome. But when two Harley Quinns exist at the movies, who wins, tweens or their parents?

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Lady Gaga is in early talks to star in the sequel to the 2019 Joker, which starred Joaquin Phoenix. There aren’t a lot of details out there yet on the sequel, including if Joaquin will reprise his role, or which character Lady Gaga may play in the story.

But early speculation says the sequel — which is also said to be a musical, which is extra weird — will feature the storyline of Harley Quinn, played by Lady Gaga. Many of us are familiar with how Harley Quinn plays into the storyline of the Joker. The two meet at Arkham Asylum, a psychiatric institute where the Joker is sent, and Harley becomes his psychiatrist before the two falls in love, break out, and the rest is crime history.

Now, if that were the case and Gaga was taking on Quinn, that would mean there would be two active franchises following the Quinn storyline. Margot Robbie has taken the role of Quinn in a few movies for the Suicide Squad franchise, and she’s done an amazing job. For whatever reason, tweens and teens love Quinn, for a lot of reasons, despite the movies being rated R.

But when we look at the feel in Suicide Squad versus Joker, one is far darker than the other. The Joker really centered on the mental health issues that made the Joker who he is. It relied on intense storylines, that felt outside what we usually see in superhero-style movies.

If we had to compare, the Suicide Squad would be similar to the 1989 Batman movie. It’s not cheesy, which is a common feel for kid movies. But, although it is geared toward adults with the movie rating, it’s not The Dark Knight Rises, to which the Joker is in the same ballpark, at least when it comes to tweens.

Essentially, the Suicide Squad version feels like it would be more loved by older kids or teenagers with playful jokes and fun catchphrases. The Joker is more for adults, deeply emotional, suspenseful, and closer to real-life, without low-hanging fruit-style jokes. After all, Harley was created originally for the 1990s Batman: The Animated Series, not for a hardcore movie.

Typically, in this genre of movies — with big well-known characters and storylines — we don’t see two running franchise universes at the same time. There’s only been one incumbent Spider-Man or Batman, for example.

So, if Lady Gaga is set to play Quinn in the upcoming Joker sequel, who is going to be the Harley Quinn? Will it be Margot or Lady Gaga? Will it be our teenagers who win or the patents?

If the Joker 2 is going to be a musical, as it’s rumored to be... maybe the most divisive comic book movie ever will suddenly...unite us all?