The first full length trailer for Joker: Folie à Deux released on April 9. Joker: Folie à Deux is the sequel to 2019's Joker, for which Joaquin Phoenix won the Academy Award for Best Actor.
Lady Gaga stars as Harley Quinn, the love of interest of Gotham's Clown Prince.
Unlike most superhero, or rather super villain, movies, Joker: Folie à Deux will be a "jukebox musical." The film will include 15 covers of "very well-known" songs, per Variety.
"We use music to make us whole," booms a deep voice at the beginning of the trailer.
Director Todd Philips was asked about the film's musical elements, to which he said that he would "like to say it's a film where music is an essential element." However, he claims that this sequel "doesn't veer too far from the first film."
"I'm nobody. I haven't done anything with my life like you have," says Gaga's Harley to the Joker. In the Batman comics canon, Harley Quinn is a psychologist at Arkham Asylum, the institution in which the Joker is imprisoned. In Joker: Folie à Deux, Harley is a fellow inmate.
"Let's get out of here," she whispers in one scene while the two appear to watch a performance.
In another moment, Harley paints on the Joker's distinctive clown make-up. Like past Jokers that came before him, Phoenix's rendition of the character has his own unique make-up look. His eyes are painted in blue diamonds, with short red eyebrows and the ever-so iconic massive closed-mouth smile drawn in lipstick.
Gaga's look appears toned down compared to previous Harley Quinns. Unlike the 2016 Suicide Squad version of Harley Quinn, Gaga's take on the villain's make-up is simple. She sports diamonds on her eyes and bright red lipstick.
The two sing, dance and kiss throughout the trailer. At one moment, the two even take the stage at a cabaret club. Harley and the Joker run away from fiery explosions and chaotic scenes, point and shoot guns together and, of course, the villains share some hearty, maniacal laughs.
"I'll tell you what's changed," says the Joker in one moment, "I'm not alone anymore." Joker focused heavily on the loneliness that tortures the unusual "comedian" Arthur Fleck, a.k.a the Joker.
A cover of Jackie DeShannon's song "What the World Needs Now is Love" scores the trailer, further emphasizing the power which Harley's character will hold in this movie. With a partner in crime, who knows what it will take to stop the Joker?
The end of the trailer features Gaga's Harley drawing a smile on a prison partition window with lipstick. The mark lines up perfectly to form a "smile" on the Joker's face through the glass.
2019's Joker broke records as the first R-rated movie to rake in over $1 billion. Joker: Folie à Deux will be Gaga's fifth major motion picture appearance.
Joker: Folie à Deux hits theaters on October 4, 2024. See the official trailer below.
