Joker 2: Why Harley Quinn Doesn’t Fit Into This Version Of The Story

gamerant.com:

Todd Phillips' 2019 billion-dollar hit, Joker, is a controversial film that depicts a raw origin story about the future Clown Prince of Gotham. Joaquin Phoenix became the second actor after the late Heath Ledger to win an Oscar for portraying the Joker. Now that a sequel is in the works, with Phillips returning as director, and Phoenix putting on the makeup again as the DC villain, many are wondering what Joker: Folie à Deux («Madness for Two») can offer.

It is reported that Lady Gaga may star as Harley Quinn and that the Joker sequel will be a movie musical. Harley Quinn becomes enamored with Joker long after he’s been terrorizing Gotham and fighting Batman. Introducing her in this version of the story before Batman is even around doesn’t make a lot of sense — but maybe that’s the point.

Joker 2: Things Fans Want To See

It's not entirely clear how old Joaquin Phoenix's Arthur Fleck/Joker character is in Phillips' feature, but given that it takes place in the early 1980s, Fleck is likely in his early 30s, since he's just starting out his career as an aspiring comedian who turns into a killer. Based on the comics and Margot Robbie's recent portrayal of Harley Quinn in the Suicide Squad films, the female villain is generally presented in her late 20s to early 30s. If Harley were to appear alongside Phoenix's Joker in his version, she would be fairly younger (or technically nonexistent) if the story still occurs in the 80s rather than the 90s (which is around Harley's birth year).

Harley could be introduced as a child who grows up as a young woman and follows in the footsteps of Joker, meaning that Fleck would be older, in his 40s or 50s, in the sequel. Age and the time period will factor into how the plot of the next Joker