The latest Joker movie is Joker: Folie à Deux, released in theaters on October 4, 2024. Todd Phillips directed it, and Joaquin Phoenix returns as Arthur Fleck. Lady Gaga plays Harleen Quinzel, the woman who becomes Harley Quinn. It is a direct sequel to 2019's Joker, and it is the second film in what Warner Bros. has treated as a standalone story, separate from the larger DC universe.
What it is actually about
The story picks up with Arthur locked up in Arkham State Hospital, awaiting trial for the murders from the first film. He meets Lee, a fellow patient who is obsessed with him and with the idea of the Joker as a symbol. Much of the film plays out inside Arthur's head, and the movie leans hard into musical numbers and fantasy sequences. If you go in expecting a crime thriller in the shape of the 2019 film, you will be thrown. It is a courtroom drama with songs, and it is deliberately slower and stranger than its predecessor.
Latest Joker Movie: What It Is and What to Expect
Who is in it
- Joaquin Phoenix as Arthur Fleck
- Lady Gaga as Lee Quinzel
- Brendan Gleeson as Jackie Sullivan, a guard at Arkham
- Catherine Keener as Maryanne Stewart, Arthur's lawyer
- Steve Coogan as Paddy Meyers, a TV interviewer
How it was received
Badly, at least by the standards set four years earlier. Critics were split, audiences were harsher, and the box office fell well short of the first film. The 2019 Joker cleared a billion dollars worldwide on a modest budget. The sequel did not come close. That does not automatically make it worthless. It does mean you should calibrate your expectations. I would call it a curiosity rather than a crowd-pleaser.
Do you need to see the first one?
Yes. The sequel assumes you know who Arthur is, what he did, and why the city treats him as a folk hero. Without that context, the trial scenes and the fantasy sequences lose most of their weight. Watch Joker (2019) first, then give the sequel some room to be its own thing.
Latest Joker Movie: What It Is and Where to Watch It
Where to watch it
After its theatrical run, the film moved to premium digital rental and purchase, then to streaming on Max, then to physical release on Blu-ray and 4K. Availability shifts by region and by month, so check a current listing for your country rather than relying on a post from last year. It is rated R, and the rating is earned.