Trailer for Joker: Folie à Deux reveals thrilling first footage of Lady Gaga and Joaquin Phoenix

The first trailer for Joker: Folie à Deux has been revealed, the musical sequel to 2019’s Joker starring Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga.

The highly anticipated return will feature the reprisal of Phoenix's role as comedian-turned-villain Arthur Fleck, alongside the introduction of Lady Gaga as Harley Quinn, Fleck's love interest and fellow patient at Arkham Asylum, contrary to previous iterations of Quinn’s backstory as a psychiatrist.

The film’s title, french for “folly of two,” is a reference to a psychiatric disorder known as shared psychosis, in which a state of delusion is shared by two individuals.

The newly released trailer gives viewers a first look at the gritty halls of Arkham, where Fleck and Quinn share what can only be described as a “meet cute” when they lock eyes in the dingy corridor. The proceed to two fall madly in love as they concoct an escape plan, breaking out of their padded cells to take on the streets of Gotham.

Joker, the first film in the ongoing series, served as Fleck’s villain origin story, showing the failed stand-up comedian and part-time clown as he begins his slow descent into madness. Now, back in the asylum where we left him, the Joker has found his accomplice.

“I’ll tell you what’s changed,” he says in the trailer. “I’m not alone anymore - that's what we should be talking about!”

While the original 2019 film was billed as a one-off, director and creator Todd Phillips said he and Phoenix had always toyed with the idea of a sequel. During the trailer’s official debut at CinemaCon, Phillips said “We loved the character of Arthur too much, but we didn’t want to jinx the [original] movie… We cast Gaga because she’s magic,” as reported by Variety.

After the booming success of Joker, earning 11 Oscar nominations and the accolade of first R-rated film to pass the billion-dollar mark in the box office, it became clear that a follow-up was necessary.

While the sequel is reportedly a jukebox musical, Phillips told the CinemaCon crowd that the categorization isn’t entirely accurate. “I’ve never talked about it as a musical, but it’s a movie where music is an essential element. The first ways I described Arthur were as weird and aloof and distant, but he has music in him, he has a grace to him. That informed him a lot in the first film. It didn’t seem like that big of a step what we did here.”

Joker: Folie à Deux will debut on October 4, 2024, marking the five year anniversary of the original film.