Director Todd Phillips has shared a first look at Lady Gaga in character opposite Joaquin Phoenix in Joker: Folie à Deux, the sequel to the 2019 hit film. Joker ended its theatrical run as the fourth highest-grossing R-rated movie of all time, earned 11 Oscar nominations, including best picture, and won best actor (for Phoenix) and best score (for Hildur Guonadottir).

Phillips fittingly captioned the post: “Happy Valentines Day.” Gaga’s Harley Quinn has blood coming out of her nose as she wildly stares into Phoenix’s eyes. His makeup is smudged all over, but Gaga’s hands embrace a smiling Arthur Fleck’s (Phoeniz) face with a passionate intensity nonetheless. See the image below:

In August, Gaga posted a musically illustrated teaser with the song “Cheek to Cheek” on Instagram, which the actress and singer has famously covered in her music career alongside Tony Bennett. At the end of the teaser, we hear Joaquin’s iconic Joker laugh.

As we previously reported, the Folie à Deux subtitle references a medical term for an identical or similar mental disorder that affects two or more individuals, usually members of the same family.

According to a Hollywood Reporter scoop last year, Gaga is playing a version of Harley Quinn, the Arkham Asylum psychiatrist who falls in love with the Joker and ultimately becomes his partner in crime. It is unclear whether Phillips will be using other DC characters or creating their own, as they did in many instances with their first movie.

It seems as though Phillips is playing up the one-sided romance of the pair — something that has been at the root of the Harley Quinn character since she was created by Paul Dini and Bruce Timm for Batman: The Animated Series 30 years ago, especially in her classic origin episode Mad Love. However, more recent interpretations — such as Margot Robbie’s in the Suicide Squad and Birds of Prey films and the character’s HBO Max animated series — have moved on from that.

Joker: Folie à Deux is currently in production and slated to be released in theaters on October 4, 2024.

20 Pop Songs That Turn 10 in 2023

• #thatPower - will.i.am ft. Justin Bieber

  Bieber lent his voice on this dance track off of will.i.am’s fourth studio album, #willpower.

• All Of Me - John Legend

  This R&B hit is from Legend’s fourth studio album, Love in the Future. The album was executive produced by Legend, Kanye West and Dave Tozer, featuring guest appearances from Kimbra, Rick Ross, Stacy Barthe and Seal.

• Applause - Lady Gaga

  “Applause” was Gaga’s lead single from her third studio album, Artpop. Gaga began planning the project in 2011, shortly after the launch of her second effort, Born This Way.

• Blurred Lines - Robin Thicke

  Robin Thicke’s “Blurred Lines” became the subject of a legal dispute with the family of Marvin Gaye and Bridgeport Music, who argued the song infringed on copyrights to Gaye’s 1977 single “Got to Give It Up.” On top of that, model Emily Ratajkowski accused Thicke of sexually assaulting her on the music video set, alleging that he groped her bare breasts from behind during the filming.

• Dark Horse - Katy Perry

  “Dark Horse” is from Perry’s fourth studio album, Prism, which was initially planned to be “darker” than her previous material. Prism ultimately became a prominently dance-inspired record.

• Drunk In Love - Beyoncé ft. JAY Z

  Beyoncé’s self-titled fifth studio album gave us this awesome collab with husband Jay-Z as well as “Partition,” “Pretty Hurts,” “XO” and “Flawless.”

• Get Lucky - Daft Punk ft. Pharrell Williams & Nile Rodgers

  Daft Punk’s “Get Lucky” is from their fourth (and seemingly final) studio album, inspired by late ’70s and early ’80s American music from Los Angeles.

• Heart Attack - Demi Lovato

  “Heart Attack” comes from Demi’s fourth studio album Demi, where she wanted to change her sound from her self-described “generic” third album Unbroken. Lovato wanted her fourth album to “have songs that excited her.”

• Help Me Lose My Mind - Disclosure

  Disclosure’s Settle album is the electronic music duo’s best musical work by far, with “Help Me Lose My Mind” being the best of all.

• Hold On, We’re Going Home - Drake ft. Majid Jordan

  Drake’s third studio album Nothing Was the Same gave us all his best hits with “Started From The Bottom,” “Worst Behavior,” and “All Me.”

• Loyal - Chris Brown ft. Lil Wayne & Tyga

  Chris Brown had dudes all over singing “These girls ain’t loyal” all year long in 2013.

• Mirrors - Justin Timberlake

  From Timberlake’s third studio album The 20/20 Experience, “Mirrors” is the far superior song choice to his collab with Jay-Z, “Suit & Tie.” Though the music video for “Suit & Tie” was great, the song is quite annoying. “Mirrors” is a song for the ages.

• Royals - Lorde

  Lorde emerged on the music scene with Pure Heroine and gave us an amazing debut album. “Royals” made her a star pretty quickly.

• Sweater Weather - The Neighbourhood

  Every time the weather gets below 70 degrees, this song is sure to come on.

• The Way - Ariana Grande ft. Mac Miller

  Mac Miller and Ariana Grande met in 2012 when the two covered “Baby It’s Cold Outside.” A year later, they collaborated again in “The Way,” from Grande’s debut studio album Yours Truly. The two didn’t start dating until August 2016 and ended the relationship in May 2018.

• The Worst - Jhené Aiko

  “The Worst” is arguably the best song off of Aiko’s debut EP Sail Out. The album has notable features with Vince Staples, Kendrick Lamar, Childish Gambino and Ab-Soul.

• Work - Iggy Azalea

  We love how this song has made its comeback on TikTok with hilarious videos of people walking “a mile in these Louboutins.”

• Work Bitch - Britney Spears

  This is the best song to work out to. Thank you, Britney Spears!

• Wrecking Ball - Miley Cyrus

  You could not escape this song in 2013 even if you tried. From the memes to the media fixation with Miley Cyrus during this era, “Wrecking Ball” will forever be a part of pop culture history.

• Young And Beautiful - Lana Del Rey

  Sad girl Lana Del Rey walked so that girls like Phoebe Bridgers and Olivia Rodrigo could run.

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