Seth Lamey
There is no denying the impact of Todd Phillips’ 2019 film Joker. The film raked in over a billion worldwide at the box office and was an awards darling. It won the Golden Lion best film honor at the Venice Film Festival and capped off the Academy Awards with a Best Actor win for Joaquin Phoenix and best musical score win for Hildur Guonadottir. Joker left open a thread for potential sequels and this week provided the first look at a teaser trailer for the coming sequel to the “crown prince of Gotham” drama.
“Tell me, what’s changed Arthur?” asks a doctor at Arkham Asylum. Arthur Fleck (Phoenix) replies “What’s changed is I’m not alone anymore.” This trailer introduces Lady Gaga as longtime partner in crime for the Joker, Harley Quinn. The film looks to pick up where Joker left off with Arthur Fleck completely wrapped into his own Joker persona. He’s now locked in Arkham Asylum after killing comedian Murray Franklin on live TV and inspiring chaos throughout Gotham.
There is not a ton of plot points to dissect in this teaser trailer, but Phillips provides enough bread crumbs to answers questions about if this film will be a full-fledged musical drama (or perhaps comedy) as he as hinted at. We see Fleck early in the trailer locked away in Arkham Asylum with his only chance and sanctuary being his own twisted fantasies and the help of psychiatrist Harley Quinn who is drawn to the darkness within him.
Much like many modern trailers, this one uses a slowed-down song from another era with Phillips choosing Burt Bacharach’s What the World Needs Now. The song use illustrates what he feels can empower his main character Arthur “Joker” Fleck and also fix his twisted Gotham. The music backdrops action of Joker and Harley meeting, escaping, and causing havoc on the outside. We also see echoes of fantasy/dancing motif that Phillips incorporated for Fleck’s psyche in the first film, this time with shades of La La Land brandishing Joker at a piano with a spotlight and dancing with Harley Quinn on a stage.
We also see glimpses of Joker running from other clown dressed “cult” followers down the streets of Gotham and a “Joker & Harley Show” setup in a club or on a stage. Gaga is dressed in a red coat and makeup for her Harley Quinn look, and we see Joker and Harley on the step of a government building with crowds of chaos around them. We see fire in Arkham as well as explosions of a building interior. We even see Harley holding a gun to Joker. The trailer calms back down at the end with Harley using lipsticks to draw a smile on the plate glass partition inside a jail, with a pull-focus technique setting up Joker to sync up his sinister smile.
Phillips reunites much of the cast and crew from his original film and the visual aesthetics from the first appear to be in line here again for the sequel. His dark and drab world for Arthur Fleck’s Joker works, and sets the mood for more chaos to ensue. I have some personal critique of how he handles the themes of his first film, but am willing to see if there is growth with the characters and how he fits within this world. Lady Gaga is always a fun addition to film and TV, and Harley Quinn is a great duo to go with Joker. This trailer will get interest with the public again, and I expect it to be a big hit for Warner Bros. Pictures, just like the original film. We’ll see if Phillips can pull off the genre meshing of musical/drama/comedy.
Directed by Todd Phillips, co-written by Phillips and Scott Silver, and starring Joaquin Phoenix, Lady Gaga, Brendan Gleeson, and Catherine Keener, Joker: Folie à Deux will be released in theaters on October 4th.
