In a cinema landscape where there is nothing more popular than movies based on comic books, Todd Philips' Joker was, if nothing else, a very different take on the material. As such, it was far from clear that Joker would go the route of other comic book movie hits and become a franchise, but Joker 2 is on the way. Joaquin Phoenix will be back, and he’s joined by Lada Gaga, but don’t expect to see another cameo by Justin Theroux.
You might not even realize that Justin Theroux was in the original Joker. He played the role of actor Ethan Chase, who is seen on TV in one scene being interviewed by Robert De Niro’s Murray Franklin. Fans began to wonder if Theroux was actually going to reprise the role, following an Instagram picture he posted of himself with Lady Gaga and director Todd Philips, but the actor told Access Hollywood he was just hanging out at the movie’s wrap party. Theroux said…
I’m not confirming or denying anything. I can’t say anything. No, I don’t know anything about it. It sounds like I’m evading your question but I just showed up. They were having a little wrap party and I was able to host it.
So while Justin Theroux was at the wrap party for the Joker sequel, likely due to being part of the larger franchise family, it doesn’t sound like there are plans for him to repurpose his role. It might have been interesting to see him once again cameo in his role, as a sort of easter egg that fans would recognize, but that’s not what’s going on here.
Though it’s certainly understandable why fans would think that. The original Instagram image, complete with a couple of hashtags including the character name and the fact that this was taken at the wrap party, could certainly be read as an indication that he’s part of the film.
While this one detail may have been cleared up, it doesn’t exactly give us a stronger picture of just what to expect from Joker: Folie à Deux. The upcoming sequel will star Joaquin Phoenix as Arthur Fleck/Joker and Lady Gaga as the psychiatrist who tries to help him and becomes Harley Quinn. The movie will also be a musical, which makes the whole thing just that much wilder. Check out Theroux’s full comments below.
Joker took some of the core elements of the comic book villain and used them to tell a different story, one certainly assumes the sequel will try to do the same. Harley Quinn was actually a character born from a Batman cartoon series, so how the self-serious movie will approach the character should, at the very least be compelling to watch.
