Warner Bros. has released the first full-length trailer for Joker: Folie à Deux.
The sequel to Joker (2019) sees Joaquin Phoenix reprise his Academy Award-winning role of clown and failed-comedian Arthur Fleck. Also returning are director Todd Phillips, his co-writer Scott Silver, and composer Hildur Guðnadóttir. Guðnadóttir won an Academy Award, a BAFTA, and a Golden Globe for her work on the first film.
Joining Phoenix for the sequel is musician Lady Gaga, best known for her roles in A Star Is Born (2018) and House of Gucci (2021). Gaga stars as Harley Quinn. The two meet in a psychiatric facility and spark a romantic relationship.
The official synopsis reads “Joker: Folie À Deux finds Arthur Fleck institutionalised at Arkham awaiting trial for his crimes as Joker. While struggling with his dual identity, Arthur not only stumbles upon true love, but also finds the music that’s always been inside him.”
Variety previously reported that the sequel has been labelled as “mostly a jukebox musical.” The trailer includes Phoenix singing the opening refrain from Stevie Wonder’s single ‘For Once In My Life.’
This is the first full-length trailer following the release of a teaser back in April. The teaser became the studio’s biggest-ever trailer debut, surpassing the number of viewers for the Barbie (2023) first trailer.
Joker (2019) is the first R-rated film to make over $1 billion at the global box office. There were originally no plans for a follow-up film, with Phillips saying “We have no plans for a sequel […] the movie’s not set up to [have] a sequel. We always pitched it as one movie, and that’s it.” Despite this, the sequel was officially greenlit in June 2022, with filming beginning the following December.
Joker: Folie à Deux will be released in UK cinemas on 4th October 2024.
