The state of DC’s cinematic universe is still up in the air, but Todd Phillips’ Joker saga is still going strong. The director is set to reteam with his leading man, Joaquin Phoenix, in a sequel to his 2019 film. In Joker: Folie à Deux, they’ll be joined by a new player. Phoenix’s Joker finally gets his Harley Quinn in the form of Lady Gaga, and Phillips is not shying away from Gaga’s talents as a singer.
Where Joker cribbed from the Scorsesian crime dramas of the ‘70s, Folie à Deux will invoke the technicolor musicals of Hollywood’s Golden Age. That certainly puts even more scrutiny on the upcoming film, as musicals have a spotty track record, especially among general audiences. While its first trailer didn’t feature any singing from Phoenix or Gaga, it did tease some visually stunning sequences for the Clown Prince and his new partner in crime.
Its latest teaser is no different. Phillips may be a divisive filmmaker, but his visual eye can’t be contested. If nothing else, Folie à Deux is set to be a good-looking film, and its standalone story could be just what the DCU needs moving forward. Check out the new trailer below.
The first official trailer for Joker: Folie à Deux leans into the musical gimmick even more than we could’ve expected, with full-blown song-and-dance numbers and clear homages to classic Hollywood musicals. It certainly feels like the wild creative swing befitting the sequel to Joker, and one that accurately reflects the unhinged minds of Joker and Harley.
In the years that Folie à Deux has been in production, DC has been in the midst of a massive creative overhaul. James Gunn and Peter Safran are now hard at work building out an interconnected universe for DC’s heroes and villains, while its standalone projects are being phased out one by one. Apart from Matt Reeves’ upcoming sequels and spinoffs for The Batman, this is the only non-DCU project coming down the pipeline — and however you feel about Phillips’ Joker, it’s nice to see something carrying over from the old regime.
The sequel is one of the only non-DCU projects that the franchise seems to have faith in, as evidenced by its whopping $200 million budget. Whether it can follow in its predecessors footsteps and break a billion at the box office remains to be seen, especially as it’s stepping into a new genre. But the Joker franchise has been underestimated before: maybe this could be the rare musical that appeals to general audiences and comic fans alike.
