Zazie Beetz might have escaped the first Joker movie unscathed, but according to Deadline, the Bullet Train actor is returning for a second round with the Clown Prince of Crime. The outlet reports “on good authority” that Beetz is in talks to reprise her role as Sophie Dumond, the struggling single parent and neighbour that Arthur Fleck fantasised a romance with.
“In my mind, [Sophie] lives because she never actively wronged Arthur,” Beetz explained during an interview with the Hollywood Reporter. “His victims in the film were generally people that pointedly hurt him. Even within the horror of his realization around his own state of mind, he acknowledges that she’s more of a bystander to his situation than an actor to his situation.”
She continued, “So, to me, it made sense that she wouldn’t be harmed by him because his harm was intentional towards certain people and then society at large, which he also felt wronged by in a way. So in my mind, she makes it out unscathed, at least physically.”
The plot of Joker 2 is unclear at present, but Joaquin Phoenix is set to reprise his role opposite Lady Gaga. Although Gaga’s role is unconfirmed, she is rumoured to be playing Harley Quinn, while the movie itself, entitled Folie à Deux, is reportedly set to be a musical.
When asked by THR about Joker 2 being a musical, the actor added, “I love musicals, and I think of them as the characters are feeling and experiencing so much that they can only sing and dance about it, whether in sorrow or in joy. […] And so I can see Arthur, who is feeling and experiencing so much, dancing and singing about it. He’s the Joker, so I think it makes sense to me.”
Joker 2 is set to arrive in theatres on October 4, 2024. If you want to find out more about the Clown Prince of Crime, check out our ranking of the best Joker actors, or see how he compares in our ranking of the best Batman villains.