She might not be totally dancing her way down, but Lady Gaga just channeled Arthur Fleck with her latest filming location for the highly anticipated Joker sequel.
While filming Joker: Folie à Deux in New York City this week, Gaga, 37, shot scenes at the same staircase that Joaquin Phoenix's titular character boogied down in the 2019 blockbuster.
Gaga, who plays Harley Quinn in the sequel, filmed scenes for the project at the iconic staircase connecting Shakespeare and Anderson avenues at West 167th Street in the Bronx.
In the latest photo from the location, Gaga can be seen in a large black jacket and gloves — without the Quinn makeup she was seen wearing in previously filmed shots — as she walked the graffiti-laced staircase.
Additional clips filmed by onlookers show Gaga hitting a little dance move reminiscent of the original scene, but it's unclear if that was for filming purposes. Footage recorded by other locals also shows Gaga slowly walking to the steps before she does the little shuffle and makes her way back down.
Thanks to the 2019 scene on the staircase, and his overall performance in the first film, Phoenix's role as Arthur Fleck earned him the Oscar for Best Actor back in 2020. PEOPLE confirmed Gaga's involvement in the Joker sequel — specifically that she was in talks to play Harley — back in June 2022. The Hollywood Reporter was the first to share the news.
Gaga herself then confirmed her casting in August, posting an animated teaser video that showed her and Joaquin Phoenix's silhouettes dancing to old-timey music.
In recent weeks, Gaga was seen wearing an ensemble composed of a red jacket, a black and white patterned blouse, a black skirt and mesh black leggings, as she filmed some additional scenes at Manhattan's City Hall with extras.
In the movie, Gaga plays the role of the Joker's longtime henchwoman and love interest, who made waves in the 1992 Saturday morning cartoon Batman: The Animated Series and gained added notoriety after being played by Margot Robbie in 2016's Suicide Squad and its 2021 sequel The Suicide Squad, as well as the character's spinoff movie, Birds of Prey (2020).
As for the staircase itself, which is sometimes referred to as the "Joker Stairs," the location has become a tourist site since the 2019 film first premiered — even earning a page on Trip Advisor.
According to a 2019 report from the New York Times, one New York staircase first caught the attention of Joker director Todd Phillips while he was watching American Gangster, so he tapped location scout Aaron Hurvitz to find the steps. The location scout later discovered the other now-iconic 132 steps in the Bronx during his quest to find stairs that felt like they were out of the Batman universe.
"Now people from all over the world are coming here to look at the stairs, the famous stairs," one resident told the outlet.
With Gaga now filming at the popular tourist spot for Joker — and after Margot Robbie, 32, told MTV her casting "makes me so happy" — fans are counting down the days until Joker: Folie à Deux is scheduled to be released in theaters on Oct. 4, 2024.
