Joaquin Phoenix & Lady Gaga Sing & Cause Chaos In Explosive Joker 2 Trailer

The Clown Prince of Crime is back with a new companion in the new trailer for "Joker: Folie à Deux." Todd Phillips' follow-up to his dark 2019 hit is likely to be the weirdest musical you see all year, as it follows nihilistic killer Arthur Fleck (Joaquin Phoenix) as he falls for DC's most lovable villain, Harley Quinn (Lady Gaga). The first trailer for the movie featured glimpses of romance and chaos set to Burt Bacharach's "What the World Needs Now is Love," while the latest preview offers another look at Gaga's Harley and a post-shooting Joker.

As Fall Out Boy once taught us, "Folie à Deux" means "a madness shared by two," and it seems likely that –- just like in the original "Joker" –- elements of this new movie will be totally imagined, perhaps as a sort of shared daydream. Harley and Joker meet behind bars, but in Phillips' vision of Gotham, they also carry out a moonlit rooftop waltz, perform on a huge classic musical soundstage, and quite literally get their names in lights. No matter your "Joker" hot take (everybody's got one!), this movie's visuals are undeniably gorgeous.

""Arthur [Fleck]'s weird and aloof and all these things, but he has music in him. He has a grace to him," Phillips told attendees at CinemaCon earlier this year (per Entertainment Weekly), noting that "music is an essential element" even in the first film. Aside from the song-and-dance of it all, Gaga's casting has been the biggest headline of the sequel so far. She spoke to Deadline in May, differentiating her Harley from past versions by saying, "You know my version of Harley is mine, and it's very authentic to this movie and these characters."

Honestly, for all of its pomp and circumstance, this trailer's kind of bland. It seems like Warner Bros. is afraid of really selling "Joker: Folie À Deux" as the full-blown musical that it (supposedly) is. Not that that's unusual. Hiding that your musical's a musical is standard procedure these days, but it feels like a missed opportunity all the same. Why not let the marketing lean all the way in and wholly embrace this sure-to-be-controversial aspect of the film? Perhaps it's that reported $200 million budget (a massive hike from the original "Joker," which cost $60 million) that's making the studio feel a little risk-averse at the moment.

The official synopsis reads as follows: "'Joker: Folie À Deux' finds Arthur Fleck institutionalized 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." Brendan Gleeson, Catherine Keener, and Zazie Beetz round out the cast for the film, which will premiere at the Venice Film Festival ahead of its theatrical release on October 4, 2024. Those with good memories may recall the first "Joker" also debuted at the 2019 Venice fest, winning the Golden Lion award. We'll find out if history repeats itself soon enough. Either way, Lady Gaga's "For Your Consideration" campaign is sure to be amazing.