Pop Queen Lady Gaga is in early talks to star opposite Joaquin Phoenix in director Todd Phillips’ sequel to Joker, the Oscar-winning, $1 billion-grossing, 2019 Warner Bros. hit based on the DC villain.

According to reports, after Phillips posted the screenplay cover on Instagram on June 7, rumours that Harley Quinn will star in the film began to circulate. Details on Gaga's character are being kept under wraps. But Joker is known for his on-off abusive relationship with Harley Quinn, his psychiatrist at the mental institution known as Arkham Asylum who falls in love with him and becomes his sidekick and partner in crime.

It is unclear whether Phillips and company are using other DC characters or striking out on their own, as they did in many instances with the first movie. If a deal is made, Gaga would play Quinn. However, this new Quinn will exist in a different DC universe than Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn, who most recently appeared in 2021’s The Suicide Squad as well as several other films.

Phillips collaborated with Gaga as one of the producers on the 2018 film `A Star Is Born,` which earned Gaga an Oscar nomination for best actress and an Oscar victory for original song.