Joker 2, technically titled Joker: Folie Ă Deux, is just a couple of weeks away, and the final trailer has arrived to try and seal the deal for potential audience goers who are still on the fence about whether a âjukeboxâ musical is how they want to see the Batman villainâs story enter its next phase.
The final trailer shows Lady Gagaâs Harley Quinn serenading Joaquin Phoenixâs Arthur Fleck with a cover of Frank Sinatraâs âThatâs Lifeâ as he goes to court to put the society that cast him out on trial for his derangement. âTheyâre all going crazy for you,â Quinn tells Fleck, seemingly referencing riots that have broken out across the country following the events of the first movie. Later in court, Fleck rebuts a witness on the stand. âYou donât think this is me?â he says. âWell maybe, maybe you donât know who I really was.â
If Joker: Folie Ă Deux has some tricks up its sleeve, itâs hidden them very high up. While the first Joker was a new spin on the villainâs origin story fused with contemporary societal angst, the sequel will have to stand on its own two feet and potentially offer fans something more than just a deeper dive into the depraved psyche of its central character. Without a Batman to play off of, Gaga will have a lot to shoulder in terms of being a foil, rather than just a love interest or enabler, for the Joker.
The sequel hits theaters October 4 and continues a steady march of comic book movies this year, beginning with the much maligned Madame Web, peaking with the box office juggernaut Deadpool & Wolverine, and continuing on now into the fall with Joker: Folie Ă Deux, Venom: The Last Dance, and Kraven the Hunter. The good news is that if you donât have the time or canât afford to see them in theaters, you can binge them all this holiday season on streaming.
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