Zazie Beetz Talks Working With Lady Gaga (‘Just Stefani’) In The Very Musical Joker 2

 Lady Gaga and Zazie Beetz side by side
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Lady Gaga is one of the most famous celebrities out there. On top of her acclaimed career as a pop star, Mother Monster is also an accomplished TV and movie actress. Her next movie is Todd Phillips’ Joker: Folie à Deux, where she’ll be playing none other than Harley Quinn. Another returning actor appearing in the sequel is Zazie Beetz, who recently talked about working with Gaga (or as she calls her “just Stefani) in the very musical Joker 2.

The original Joker movie was a wild success, which earned Joaquin Phoenix an Academy Award. Zazie Beetz played Sophie Dumond, a woman from Arthur’s building who he imagined a relationship with. She recently spoke to Variety about her time working on the highly anticipated upcoming DC movie, including her collaboration with Lady Gaga. She spoke to their working relationship, saying:

She’s super warm and kind. I felt very welcome with her on set. She was doing her own character work and stuff, but she’s a very grounded person. She’s just Stefani.

There you have it. While Lady Gaga is no doubt doing some very complicated work bringing Dr. Harleen Quinzel to life in the burgeoning Joker franchise, she sounds like she’s super down to earth with her collaborators on set. And now I’m eager to see what type of scenes Zazie Beetz might share with the “Just Dance” icon.

Beetz is now one of the precious few who can refer to Lady Gaga by her given name. She was born Stefani Germanotta, but is known to the public as Gaga. Bradley Cooper similarly called her Stef when doing press for A Star Is Born.

Later in that same interview, Zazie Beetz teased the other big way Joker: Folie à Deux will stand apart from its predecessor. Namely the fact that Joker 2 will incorporate musical numbers. Given how grueling and uncomfortable much of the first movie was, this is a big change. Beetz addressed the musical aspect of the film, saying:

I think people will be surprised. I don’t think it’s going to be what they expect, around it being musical. We all sort of express musically and dancing in our lives day-to-day. I think it’s going to work really well.

Well, I’m definitely intrigued. Unfortunately, there’s still going to be quite a long wait before we can see Joker 2 in all of its musical glory. Filming for Joker: Folie à Deux wrapped in April, but the project is going through an extensive post-production process.

Joker 2 will arrive in theaters on October 4th, 2024. In the meantime, check out the 2023 movie release dates to plan your next movie experience.