Joker: Folie à Deux trailer breakdown: Gotham goes Gaga

The world is going gaga for Joker: Folie à Deux. The long-awaited sequel to 2019's Joker was something of an unexpected surprise given that the Academy Award-nominated first film worked so well as a standalone. But in the summer of 2022, director Todd Phillips confirmed that Joker 2 was happening. And now, just under two years later, the first trailer has been released.

Joaquin Phoenix reprises his role as the laugh-stricken Arthur Fleck, but this time he shares top billing with the incomparable Lady Gaga, who joins him as Harley Quinn. The pair are set to cause more mayhem in Gotham City, and that is expected to include a musical sequence or two (or maybe 10, who knows?).

The first trailer premiered online to coincide with Warner Bros. Discovery's CinemaCon panel and it instantly sent the world into meltdown, showcasing what we can all expect from the upcoming movie. Watch it below:

Harley Quinn steals the show in the Joker: Folie à Deux trailer

The first film was dark and moody and it goes without saying that the second film will take its cues from that too. The Joker: Folie à Deux trailer picks up with Joaquin Phoenix's Fleck in Arkham Asylum (where we last left him in Joker). Downtrodden and unusually quiet, there isn't a laugh from the villain who destroyed much of Gotham City with his rampage in the previous movie. Once he crosses paths with Harley Quinn, however, that all changes as it adds a spash of color to his life.

The two are instantly drawn to each other, and the trailer highlights how chaos is set to follow them wherever they go. Serenaded by "What the World Needs Now", it teases us with their growing bond, as Harley tells Arthur that they need to get out of Arkham. Somehow, someway, they accomplish that and end up back in the streets of Gotham, even recreating the iconic dance scene from the previous movie with the two of them.

As all of this is going on, there are scenes of what appears to be the movie's musical sequences intercut, with Joker and Harley all dolled up on a theatrical set. It's all very Moulin Rouge, but it's all very Joker too. And it gives us a glimpse into what to expect from the ambitious movie, and the chaotic relationship that will develop before our very eyes.

Joker was a huge success for Warner Bros. and DC in 2019, crossing the $1 billion mark at the box office and becoming the highest-grossing R-rated movie of all time. It also found itself generating buzz on the awards circuit, landing multiple nominations and wins, which was capped off by Phoenix's Best Actor win at the Academy Awards - a win that made him the second star to win an acting award at the Oscars for playing The Joker after Heath Ledger's remarkable portrayal in The Dark Knight.

After that first trailer, it wouldn't be surprising if Phoenix and Gaga get some recognition from the Academy Awards next year.