Joker 2 trailer drops with a massive musical surprise

Warner Bros. Pictures has released the first trailer for Joker: Folie a Deux, and it may have you questioning exactly what type of movie Joker 2 is.

The trailer is set to a cover of What the World Needs Now Is Love by Burt Bacharach and Hal David, and could almost be the setup for an off kilter romance film.

We see the budding relationship of the Joker (Joaquin Phoenix) and Harley Quinn (Lady Gaga), and a promise to escape together like a plain old pair of (not that) young lovers. Except they’re in prison.

However, dig a little deeper and you start to wonder how much of a literal tease these early teasers are. Have a watch:

Much of what we’ve heard about Joker: Folie a Deux is that it’s a musical, a jukebox musical no less.

At ComicCon, though, director Todd Philipps played down the baffling but catchy idea the sequel to a grim anti-superhero movie could play out as anything approaching a traditional musical.

“We never really talked about it [as a musical], but I like to say it's a film where music is an essential element. To me, that doesn't veer too far from the first film,” said Phillips, according to Entertainment Weekly.

“[The Joker] has a grace to him. That informed a lot of the dancing in the first film... it didn't feel like that big of a step here. It's different, but I think it'll make sense when you see it.”

Will these jukebox musical moments simply be the backdrop to the joint delusion of the two leads?

Last month, Variety reported the movie features upwards of 15 covers of well-known songs, including That’s Entertainment from 1953 musical The Band Wagon.

The film’s lead composer is Hildur Guðnadóttir, who worked on the original Joker as well as Tár and A Haunting in Venice.

We’ve already heard Joker: Folie a Deux has, to the surprise of no-one, earned an R-rating from the MPA, citing “some strong violence, language throughout, some sexuality, and brief full nudity.”

The release of this trailer is a Joker-like tease in itself. It appeared on 10/04/2024, to use the UK date system, while the movie hits cinemas on 10/04/2024 with the standard US date layout. How tricksy.

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