The first official trailer for Todd Phillips' Joker: Folie à Deux has arrived and it teases a wild new adventure that will team Academy Award winners Joaquin Phoenix (Gladiator; Walk the Line) and Lady Gaga (A Star is Born; House of Gucci) as Arthur Fleck and Harley Quinn, respectively, and thrust them in an all-new musical adventure that promises to leave our collective jaws on the floor.
Speaking at CinemaCon earlier this evening, Phillips teased the film's musical elements, while not exactly labeling the film a musical. “Music is an essential element. It doesn’t veer too far from the first film. We use music to make us whole, to balance the fractures in ourselves.”
In addition to Phoenix and Gaga in the leading roles, Primetime Emmy-nominee Zazie Beetz (Deadpool 2; Atlanta) will also reprise her role as Sophie Dumond, while the supporting cast consists of Academy Award-nominee Brendan Gleeson (The Banshees of Inisherin; Edge of Tomorrow), 2x Academy Award-nominee Catherine Keener (The 40-Year-Old Virgin; The Adam Project), Jacob Lofland (The Son; Maze Runner: The Death Cure), Steve Coogan (Tropic Thunder; Philomena), Ken Leung (Rush Hour; Old), Harry Lawtey (Industry; The Pale Blue Eye), Leigh Gill (Joker; Game of Thrones) and Sharon Washington (Joker; Michael Clayton).
Unlike the previous installment, which was made on a modest $70 million production budget, the second chapter will boast a considerably higher price tag as it reportedly cost around $200 million to make. Considering the first film grossed over $1.079 billion at the global box office, it seems as though the studio is extremely bullish on the sequel possibly reaching the same heights, or completely surpassing them.
According to the newly minted DC Studios head James Gunn, this upcoming sequel will not be part of his soon-to-be-launched DC Universe, but will instead be an "Elseworlds" project, along with Matt Reeves' ongoing The Batman series.
Joker: Folie à Deux hits theaters on October 4, 2024.
Check out the official teaser trailer below:
Forever alone in a crowd, failed comedian Arthur Fleck seeks connection as he walks the streets of Gotham City. Arthur wears two masks -- the one he paints for his day job as a clown, and the guise he projects in a futile attempt to feel like he's part of the world around him. Isolated, bullied and disregarded by society, Fleck begins a slow descent into madness as he transforms into the criminal mastermind known as the Joker.