The director of the upcoming Joker sequel just posted the perfect Valentine’s Day gift for fans: a first look at Lady Gaga as The Crime Queen of Gotham City, Harley Quinn! In a photo posted to Todd Phillips‘ Instagram account [SEE HERE] on February 14, Gaga is seen leaning up against a wall as she cradles Joaquin Phoenix‘s face in her own. In the close-up screen capture, her blonde hair is pulled back as she stares wildly into his eyes. It also appears that her nose may be bloodied. A scruffy Joaquin, who of course plays Arthur Fleck/The Joker, appears to be emotional in the scene. “Happy Valentines Day,” the director of Joker: Folie à deux captioned the intense photo.
Fans went wild over the glimpse of the beloved singer as DC’s iconic Harley Quinn, and took to the comments thread to react. “MY HEART IS ABOUT TO DROP” raved one, while another wrote, “Best Valentine EVER!!!” alongside a row of heart eye emojis. “Seems like a healthy relationship,” quipped a third.
The A Star is Born actress, 36, is stepping into the role on the heels of Margot Robbie, who nailed the character with a sassy version in Birds of Prey (2020) and The Suicide Squad (2021.) Others who have played the crazed criminal in various capacities include Gillian Jacobs, Melissa Rauch, and Kaley Cuoco, among others.
Margot, for one, is thrilled for the “Bad Romance” singer. “It makes me so happy because I said from the very beginning that all I want is for Harley Quinn to be one of those characters the way…like Macbeth or Batman always gets passed from great actor to great actor,” she said in part during an MTV News video interview (via Variety) back in October. “Someone gets to do their Batman, or someone gets to do their Macbeth.”
The Barbie movie actress added that it was an “honor” to have Gaga take over. “It’s such an honor to have built a foundation strong enough that Harley can now be one of those characters that other actors get to have a go at playing,” she remarked. “And I think she’ll do something incredible with it.”