Brendan Gleeson Signed Onto Joker: Folie à Deux As A Fan Of The First Film

Todd Phillips is following up his 2019 hit film "Joker" with the sequel, "Joker: Folie à Deux," due in theaters on October 4, 2024. He will be writing the script with Scott Silver, who wrote the original film. Joaquin Phoenix will once again transform into the clown prince of crime, returning to the role that garnered him a 2020 Oscar for best actor. A brief teaser for the film, as well as the announcement of the casting of Lady Gaga, insinuates the suspected musical genre bend the film will be taking. Although nothing has been confirmed by the studio, Gaga all but confirmed via her social media that she will be taking over the role of Harley Quinn, a move which previous live-action Harley Quinn, Margot Robbie, very much approves of.

Joining Gaga in the cast will be the returning Zazie Beetz who played the object of Arthur Fleck's affection in the previous film, Sophie Dumond. The Hollywood Reporter stated that "Mud" star Jacob Lofland would be joining the cast as a fellow Arkham inmate who befriends Phoenix's Fleck. Catherine Keener also joined the film's cast in a secret role (via Deadline.)

In September 2022, Deadline broke the story that Brendan Gleeson would be joining the cast as well in an unknown role. Production on the film is set to kick off in December 2022, and it is said to take place within Arkham Asylum. Other than the musical elements believed to be a part of the film, plot details are being kept under wraps.

In an interview with Collider, Brendan Gleeson casually kept quiet about the secretive plot elements of "Joker: Folie à Deux." When asked what made him want to join the film, he said, "It wasn't the material, which is a great way to get me out of having to answer any questions about the criteria. It was the achievement of the first film."

He states that he knew Joaquin Phoenix from working with him on "The Village," and that he was reason enough to join the sequel. He continued, "And that performance, I'm still in awe of it. That performance as Joker, in that first movie. It was one of the most extraordinary achievements I've ever had. And for Todd [Phillips] to have...worked the movie around to allow for that, I didn't have to be asked twice. I really didn't."

Gleeson told The Irish Times, that he's taking the time to "smell the coffee" and being choosier with the roles he takes. He said what he is looking for: "The excitement you get when you get something through the door that absolutely sings. And that you have to rise to it, rather than trying to drag it up by its bootstraps. When I smell it, when it jumps through the window, it's just not going to go away."

He said after he took the role of Mad-Eye Moody in the "Harry Potter" films, he knew he was going to be losing his anonymity. "It's difficult to browse in a shop. It's a big price to pay, and I don't like it." Working with Phoenix and Phillips, though, was enough to get him to sign on to another big franchise.