Welcome to Arkham Asylum, folks. Here you will find Arthur Fleck (Joaquin Phoenix) living a drab, incarcerated life—until he sees a girl who appears to be singing in the prison choir. When they meet, everything changes. Freedom! Performances! Dancing on the rooftops! So much love is in the air!
But how much of this is real? The first trailer for Joker: Folie à Deux is full of flashes of color (those umbrellas!) and razzle-dazzle, but there is a distinct suggestion that little of their fancy lives is actually happening—at least not exactly the way we’re seeing it. Probably Arthur and Harley (Lady Gaga) do break out of prison, but all the shiny-outfit glowing-lights parts seem… well, these two aren’t generally known for being the best-adjusted of folks, you know?
Joker: Folie à Deux is, of course, Todd Phillips’s sequel to 2019’s Joker, which was a massive hit: a billion bucks at the box office and 11 Oscar nominations. It was supposed to be a one-off. Surprise! The sequel has been described as a jukebox musical, though Variety points out that director Phillips has said that’s not entirely accurate: “I like to say it’s a movie where music is an essential element,” Phillips said at CinemaCon, where footage debuted. “It doesn’t veer too far from the first film. Arthur has music in him. He has a grace to him.”
The Joker and Harley dance into theaters on October 4th.
