Joaquin Phoenix And Lady Gaga Go On A Crime Spree In The First Trailer For Joker: Folie à Deux
One of the year’s most anticipated films, finally has a full trailer: Joker: Folie à Deux, the sequel to 2019’s Joker, arrives later this year, and after months of speculation and teases, we now have a good look.
Joaquin Phoenix returns to the role that bagged him an Oscar last time around, but is now joined by none other than Lady Gaga, who plays his accomplice in crime, Harley Quinn. WB Studios has also confirmed that the film will have “musical elements”, which makes sense when you have Gaga involved- so it looks like it’ll be quite the ride.
What is Joker: Folie à Deux about?
Last time around, Arthur Fleck (Phoenix) went on a crime spree which earned him the moniker of “Joker”, and ended with him sent to incarceration at Arkham Asylum. Folie à Deux picks up where the last film let off, with Fleck now spending his days locked up. Like the first film, it’s set in the 1980s, and Arthur is introduced to another patient at Arkham, Harleen Quinzel (Gaga), who takes an interest in Arthur and begins to develop a bond with him. The trailer shows them meeting, with Arthur spotting Harleen singing as part of a choir with other patients, before being whisked away by guards. “I’m nobody” she later says to him, “I haven’t done anything with my life like you have.”
There’s also glimpses of the pair in full musical theatre mode, both singing and dancing, with some very stylish shots and set pieces, promising something quite different from the first film. The two also recreate the now iconic staircase dance from the original film, with Arthur saying “I’ll tell you what’s changed- I’m not alone anymore” Of course, much like last time, it’s hard to tell how much is real and genuine, and what is actually figments of Arthur’s imagination.
But eventually, Arthur and Harleen- renaming herself as “Harley Quinn”, decide to make an escape attempt to once again wreak havoc on Gotham City. Batman fans will also know that previous versions of the Joker don’t show his relationship with Harley being a healthy one- so we’ll have to see how far their relationship in the new film will go. The trailer ends with Harley drawing a red smile on a window, with Arthur moving his face to make it look like he’s wearing his trademark lipstick.
Who else stars, and when does it release?
Zazie Beets will be back as Sophie from the first film, and new cast members include Brendan Gleeson, Catherine Keener, Ken Leung and Steve Coogan– who briefly appears in the trailer. It’ll be released in theatres later this year on 4th October.
