Joker: Folie à Deux Trailer: Lady Gaga and Joaquin Phoenix in a Musical Fever Dream
The highly anticipated trailer for Joker: Folie à Deux (also known as Joker 2) has finally been released, and it promises a twisted, musical romance between Joaquin Phoenix’s Joker and Lady Gaga’s Harley Quinn.
A teaser trailer for the film was released on April 10, 2024, while Warner Bros. screened a presentation at the 2024 CinemaCon, being promoted by director Todd Phillips. The sequel to the 2019 blockbuster “Joker” takes a left turn by entering the musical genre, with at least 15 reinterpretations of well-known songs. It features Sammy Davis Jr. and Tom Jones’ cover of the song “What the World Needs Now Is Love” (1965).
The trailer showcases Phoenix’s Joker and Gaga’s Harley Quinn escaping from a mental asylum and embarking on an intense, distorted romance. The two share a disorder, with Harley potentially being an Arkham inmate herself, as suggested by the trailer.
Phillips described the upcoming film as “a movie where music is an essential element,” stating that it didn’t seem like a big step from the first film, which also had music as a key element. He thanked theater owners for their unwavering commitment to screening “Joker” in 2019, despite “these bizarre warnings” about the comic book adaptation potentially inciting real-life violence.
Joker: Folie à Deux is set to open in theaters on October 4, and it is part of the DC Elseworlds brand, which allows for stories set outside of the shared DC Universe being crafted by DC Studios bosses James Gunn and Peter Safran.
The film is expected to continue the story of Arthur Fleck, who spirals after his mental health issues come to a head until he adopts the Joker persona, who ends the first film with a folk hero-like status as he inspires a riot in Gotham.
The addition of Gaga to the cast has led to speculation that the sequel will be a musical, with some speculating that she might contribute original compositions. However, it remains to be seen whether the genre twist will mean original compositions are in the offing.
The trailer has already received a viewer discretion warning on YouTube for potentially containing suicide or self-harm topics, as Harley Quinn, played by Lady Gaga, makes a finger-gun gesture and holds it to her temple before pulling the ‘trigger’ in the trailer.
The trailer gained 167 million views in its first 24 hours, being Warner Bros.’ biggest trailer premiere at the time, having surpassed that of the first trailer for Barbie (2023).
