First glimpse of Lady Gaga revealed in Joker 2; take a look at some of the singer’s other silver screen roles

The hype for Todd Phillip’s sequel to his 2019 film Joker has only ramped up more today, as the director took to Instagram on Valentine's Day to share the first peek of Lady Gaga in Joker: Folie à Deux.

The film, which once again sees Joaquin Phoenix take up the role of Arthur Flick/The Joker, is set for a 2024 release, but after the Instagram reveal, many fans don’t think they can wait that long.

Lady Gaga is set to star as Harley Quinn, the love interest of The Joker who first appeared on our screens in Batman: The Animated Series from 1992 to 1995, before making the leap from comic book pages to the big screen in the critical maligned Suicide Squad back in 2016.

Despite poor critical reviews regarding the movie, the opinion of Margot Robbie’s portrayal of Harley Quinn, the once psychiatrist now anti-hero in the DC Universe, was seen as one of the few bright spots of the series It led to Robbie reprising the role in James Gunn’s 2021 sequel, The Suicide Squad, and a solo outing in 2020’s Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn.)

But rather than the comedic take that James Gunn took with the character, Todd Phillips' iteration of Harley Quinn will see Lady Gaga portray the role in the gritty universe that The Hangover director had created to much acclaim with his 2019 film.

It’s yet another diverse role for the singer, born Stefani Germanotta, who throughout the years has played a hitman for hire, an aspiring singer and a socialite-turned-convicted killer. This is on top of numerous television roles from American Horror Story to appearing on The Simpsons in 2012 - a year before her big screen unveiling.

Peopleworld takes a look at the big roles Lady Gaga was cast in that had audiences, both in the music and film world, excited to see what the highly-creative individual would bring to the roles - and the overall reviews each film received.

Machete Kills (2013)

Lady Gaga was featured all over the promotion for Robert Rodriguez’s sequel to 2010’s grindhouse outing starring Danny Trejo as the titular Machete. But her role in the film was not as prominent as the marketing would lead you to believe. Cast as La Camaleón, she portrayed one of several disguises the character used throughout the movie, sharing the role with Cuba Gooding Jr, Antonio Banderas and Walton Goggins.

Despite the popularity of the first film, Machete Kills didn’t live up to the goodwill built from the first film - it did lead Lady Gaga to receive her first film award nomination though, garnering a Worst Supporting Actress nod at the 34th Golden Raspberry Awards in 2013.

Rotten Tomatoes rating: 29%

Sin City: A Dame to Kill For (2014)

Gaga then decided to roll the dice once again with Robert Rodriguez a year later, featuring in Sin City: A Dame to Kill For - the sequel of another sleeper hit - in 2014.

Featuring in the second act of the movie, Gaga played a sympathetic waitress, Bertha, who lends money to one of the movie’s protagonists Johnny, played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt.

… and that was it. Fans felt once again that they were being Gaga-baited with promises of a feature role in the movie, but alas her acting talent was once again neglected and instead her appearance equaled that of a walk-on cameo on a television show. The film itself once again didn’t live up to the hype that its predecessor rightfully deserved.

Rotten Tomatoes rating: 43%

A Star Is Born (2018)

Four years and a couple of well-received small screen appearances later, Lady Gaga was cast as the lead role alongside Bradley Cooper in the actor’s adaptation of A Star Is Born. To say the reviews for the film and both performers were overwhelmingly positive was an understatement, as the film earned critical plaudits, commercial success, chart success with the spin-off soundtrack and constant of Shallow on commercial radio.

It was also one of the darlings of the 2018-2019 awards season, with Lady Gaga earning two nominations for Best Actress and Best Original Song at the 91st Academy Awards. Though Gaga lost out to Olivia Coleman for the Best Actress Oscar, she did pick up the award for Best Original Song.

But the performance led many to realise that the peacock-like pageantry that was a constant throughout Lady Gaga’s career up to that point laid a humble, earnest, powerful acting talent as demonstrated in the film. Tears were shed by many during “that” final musical number at the end - be honest with yourself.

Rotten Tomatoes rating: 90%

House of Gucci (2021)

Gaga followed up her dramatic turn in A Star is Born with another venture into serious acting roles; this time portraying a real-life figure in Patrizia Reggiani in 2021’s true crime drama House of Gucci. Gaga was once again cast among big names within the acting world, including Adam Driver, Jeremy Irons, Al Pacino and a heavily made-up Jared Leto.

Gaga’s role as Reggiani meant that she had to embody every aspect of the Italian, including her accent - which led to some ridicule of her use of an Italian accent. Film critic Mark Kermode remarked “while others adopt faintly ridiculous Italian inflections, Leto delivers his lines in a string of high-pitched whoops that suggest he is attempting to communicate with whales” and called her performance “parodic.”

It didn’t stop Lady Gaga from earning several award nominations for her performance in the film, with a Best Actress nomination surprising many during the 75th BAFTAs announcement at the time. Though critics have been a little crueler with their assessment of House of Gucci, it still has managed to carve a dedicated cult following (especially among Jared Leto fans.)

Rotten Tomatoes rating: 62%