Joker Sequel: Mad Love
Even before its release, there were rumors Joker would get a sequel. After its release, the director and Joaquin Phoenix mentioned they’d like to do more.
The only problem with that is not taking away the sadness fans feel for Arthur Fleck. Also, it’ll prove difficult for them to capture the lightning that the first Joker had.
In saying that, there is one way they can follow-up to the movie without damaging it. When you think of the Joker, there’s another who’s always around him. To him, she’s a nuisance who has her uses but Harley Quinn is a popular character among fans.
A Joker sequel could focus on Dr. Harleen Quinzel and her breakdown into Harley Quinn. In doing this, it shows the audience who the Joker is now and what his transformation has done to his confidence.
In Joker his therapy sessions are important. Putting them in a sequel but making his Psychiatrist Dr. Quinzel makes for an interesting dynamic.
It turns what we saw in the first movie on its head. Furthermore, it serves to show how someone clever like Dr. Quinzel turns into the crazy Harley Quinn. The best way to do this is by using a famous Harley Quinn story as a loose adaptation.
Harley Quinn: Mad Love follows Harleen from childhood until the fateful day she becomes the Clown Princess of Crime. Through it, the movie can act as Joker using his therapy sessions to trick Harleen into talking about herself. When she does, her past is seen via flashback.
Recently, DC has also released two other Harleen-centric Black Labels focusing on different ways she becomes Harley Quinn.
One of them sees Harleen as a Crime Investigator who becomes enraptured by the Joker. The other is a gritter take on Harley’s origin.
If Joker is a look into how bullying and throwing those with illnesses aside can break them, then the sequel could show how love can drag the smartest of people to lunacy.
Whoever plays Harleen needs to be different from Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn. That’s not saying Robbie’s Harley is bad, she’s great. However, this Harleen needs to find the darker world that is Joker.
That’s why I think there’s a certain actress who’s already dabbled as a fun psychopath would work.
Jodie Comer is famously known for portraying Villanelle in Killing Eve. It’s seeing her in that which makes her an ideal candidate for the role.
She can bring a more twisted take on Harleen, making her empathetic to audiences but also sinister when need be. There are moments in her Villanelle portrayal that’s similar to Harley Quinn already.
