The wildly popular fan short Jokers Wild starring David Howard Thornton — yes, Art the Clown — has a sequel coming. And with that sequel? We get a new live action portrayal of Harley Quinn.

The official press release sent out:

Los Angeles, CA (AUGUST 3RD, 2026) Aaron Bennett (director) is ready to expand further into his dark, gritty portrayal of the beloved DC universe as development officially begins for JOKERS WILD: LAZARUS RISEN.

The fan-made sequel comes after the highly successful short film JOKERS WILD (available for free on YouTube), starring none other than David Howard Thornton (Terrifier) as The Joker. This time around, there will be a more centered focus on the portrayal of Harley Quinn; starring up-and-coming actress Lauren Alenia.

For Lauren, this is the role of a lifetime. Just as David’s dream was to have an opportunity to portray his favorite Gotham villain on-screen one day, the same can be said here once again. Lauren established her career as a social media influencer, which quickly led her into the world of cosplay where she won multiple awards. One of her most well-known portrayals during her time cosplaying was none other than Harley Quinn.

Lauren shares her excitement for this role by saying, “It goes back to cosplaying the character for 7 years. Not only hand crafting the different looks of Harley, but also studying her voice, mannerisms, poses, behavior, to where going to conventions as a Harley cosplayer was pure entertainment and a performance to fans. With this, I caught the attention of director Aaron W Bennett, and was offered to audition for the upcoming sequel. I prepared day and night before submitting my final, proud, self tape in. About over a month of hoping, I got the phone call he shared my tape with his follower producers, and he cast me as the next Harley Quinn.”

She goes on to mention the new direction of the character, given the more horror-inspired representation within the Jokers Wild universe: “This version is one fans have never seen.

The comics, games, and movies don’t compare. These will all be influences for sure, but nothing will match the gory, dark, mentally unstable portrayal of this Harley. I’ll be studying her origins and established character along with mental illnesses, such as co-dependency, obsessive compulsive disorder, and trauma bonding.”

Director Aaron W. Bennett shares what fans can expect from this sequel: “It’s my job to respect the source material but offer up something new as well. My talented Actor, Joel LeBlanc, did such an amazing job in the first Jokers Wild that I knew I wanted him back. I wrote it for him, he was the first person to read the sequel script and as probably the biggest fan of Jason Todd I’ve ever met, he seemed completely down with what I was going to do, like, immediately. That’s the kind of buy-in a director can only dream of. REAL fans know what happens, the lore surrounding Jason’s death. But, I want to go further with it and bring a few surprises. That’s what fan films are, I think, lots of nods and Easter eggs to show respect and something special to make it our own. The horror, the ambience, is all going to be there, I promise. If you liked the first one, you are going to be VERY happy with what’s coming next. What David [Howard Thornton] started, Joel is going to finish… with a BANG.”

Harley Quinn in a horror movie quite literally sounds like it was made for me.

The Kickstarter for Jokers Wild: Lazarus Risen is live on August 3rd. Go support some hard working fans!

Jokers Wild: Lazarus Risen stars Lauren Alenia, Joel Leblanc, Kevin Keppy (Barbarian, Smile) and more surprises to come. Written, directed and produced by Aaron Bennett. Co-produced by Matt Bolea and Vanessa Leigh.