'Joker 2' Trailer Revealed With Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga

The full-length trailer for Joker: Folie a Deux dropped on Tuesday morning, promising more frightful laughs. The 3-minute preview hints at a new story following Joaquin Phoenix as Arthur Fleck, a.k.a. The Joker , and introducing Lady Gaga as Harleen Quinzel, a.k.a. Harley Quinn . However, it focuses more on depicting the chaos than making sense of it.

Joker: Folie a Deux - or " Joker 2 " as some are calling it for simplicity's sake - premieres at the Venice Film Festival in September before hitting theaters everywhere on Oct. 4, 2024. Writer Scott Silver and director Todd Phillips both return for this sequel, as do stars Phoenix and Zazie Beetz. The trailer doesn't give us any hints about Beetz's character Sophie Dumond, focusing mainly on the introduction of the Joker's sadistic sidekick and love interest Harley Quinn. It also gives plenty of screentime to Brandon Gleeson, who is playing a police officer or prison guard.

According to a report by Deadline , Folie a Deux will take place mostly inside of Arkum Asylum, the fictional institution that looms so large in DC Comics and Batman stories. Arthur will meet Harleen, a fellow inmate, and their love affair will blossom into shared delusions coinciding with the real-life riots spurred by Arthur's actions in the first movie. The movie is at least partially a musical, though the trailer didn't hint at that too strongly.

The 2019 psychological thriller Joker struck a chord with a huge audience, though it had little to do with DC Comics canon or even other screen adaptations. It is set in Gotham City in the early 1980s, following Arthur's struggle with a neurological disorder, mental health issues and poverty. He works as a party clown and aspires to be a stand-up comedian, but fails miserably at both. Against all odds, he is given a chance to appear on his favorite late-night show where he recites a nihilistic manifesto, murders the host and inspires more riots across the city. The movie ends with Arthur in Arkham Asylum where he is apparently still causing violent mayhem among the staff and patients.

Joker is streaming now on Max. Joker: Folie a Deux hits theaters on Oct. 4, 2024.