Oscar winners Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga star in the first trailer for Joker: Folie à Deux, one of the more intriguing films scheduled for release in 2024.
At CinemaCon, Warner Bros. released the teaser for Joker 2, one of the most anticipated films that theater owners were eager to see, and for good reason. The film is a follow-up to the $1 billion blockbuster that won Phoenix an Oscar, but it also deviates from the norm by being a musical.
However, director Todd Phillips pointed out that there are some similarities between it and the first, which also featured music as a major component.
When questioned if it was a musical, Phillips responded, “We never talked about it like that.” “I like to say it’s a movie where music is an essential element. To me that doesn’t veer to far from the first film.” In the first film, “Arthur has music in him. He has a grace to him.”
Prior to releasing the teaser, Phillips disclosed that, despite not having a movie to promote, he had planned to attend CinemaCon in 2020 only to express gratitude to theater owners.
“I did want to say thank you to you guys … about a month before the first Joker came out the narrative on the film really turned,” he added, adding that there were rumors the movie might incite violence. He expresses gratitude to the theater owners for their unwavering support of the movie.
Phoenix reprises his role as Arthur Fleck, and Lady Gaga makes an appearance in a part reportedly modeled after Harley Quinn from comic books. The Folie à Deux title alludes to the medical word for a same or comparable mental disease that affects two or more persons, usually members of the same family. The pair are well-known for their poisonous romantic connection in the comics.
In 2019, the first Joker shocked everyone by collecting over $1 billion at the box office, making it the highest-grossing R-rated film ever. In the movie, Phoenix played an aspiring comedian who spirals out of control after his mental health problems get out of control and takes on the Joker character. He ends up looking like a folk hero as he starts a riot in Gotham. The sequel, which reunites director Phillips with Gaga after the latter produced her music-focused A Star Is Born remake, is rumored to contain musical elements.
Phillips had been releasing teasers for the movie: an Instagram image from December 2022 featuring Phoenix in costume, and a first look at Lady Gaga alongside Phoenix on Valentine’s Day 2023.
Along with Scott Silver, Phillips wrote. The Joker sequel is a product of DC Studios executives James Gunn and Peter Safran’s DC Elseworlds brand, which permits tales created outside of the shared DC Universe. Under that umbrella are Matt Reeves’ Batman Part II film and the HBO Max Penguin series.
