Summary

• Lady Gaga will play a version of Harley Quinn named Lee in the upcoming Joker: Folie à Deux DC sequel.
• The name change may have been a creative decision; her evolution into Harley Quinn may occur during the film.
• Harley Quinn’s essence in DC canon is the priority, not the name change to Lee; it remains to be seen what the reason is for the change.

The upcoming Joker: Folie à Deux movie will be making a big change to Lady Gaga’s version of Harley Quinn in the DC sequel. This year will be the first in a long time to only have one DC film coming out, with Joker: Folie à Deux only five months away from opening in theaters. Taking place a few years after the 2019 film, Joker: Folie à Deux will explore Arthur Fleck meeting this universe’s version of Harley Quinn, played by Lady Gaga.

In a new interview with E! News, Lady Gaga opened up about joining Joker: Folie à Deux as the next big-screen version of Harley Quinn. While she couldn’t reveal spoilers, Lady Gaga dropped a surprise that her version of Harley would be referred to as Lee. She shared the following:

My version of Harley Quinn is Lee, and in many ways I think this will be a very different Lee for people and I’m excited for people to see the story we want to tell.

Why Is Joker: Folie à Deux Changing Harley Quinn’s Name?

While time will tell how this name change will factor into Harley Quinn’s origin story, it still begs the question of why they are going with the alternative approach. To this day, no Batman or DC project has ever re-named Harley, as they have always stuck to the source material. However, given that Joker: Folie à Deux is an Elseworlds approach to the Clown Prince of Crime, they have the same creative freedom with Harley Quinn.

Harley Quinn is the alterego for psychologist Dr. Harleen Quinzel in DC Comics.

It’s possible that Joker: Folie à Deux will have Lady Gaga’s character start out as Lee when she first bonds with Arthur. Once she actually becomes the famous DC villainess, that may be when she shifts to the Harley Quinn name. After all, all the marketing is referencing her as Harley Quinn, meaning the name will, in one way or another, be part of the Joker: Folie à Deux story.

Even though it will probably be divisive with some audience members, the Lee name could be a change that makes sense in this context. As long as Joker: Folie à Deux makes sure to capture the essence of who Harley Quinn is in the DC canon, that is far more important than her nickname being Lee. Hopefully, more glimpses of Lady Gaga’s character will be revealed in the next Joker: Folie à Deux trailer so that an explanation may be made clear.

Source: E! News