Joker: Folie à Deux: Everything You Need To Know

Lady Gaga and Joaquin Phoenix as Harley Quinn and the Joker, respectively. Image: courtesy of Warner Bros.

WHEN TODD PHILLIPS’ first Joker film premiered in 2019, it was an immediate hit. Grossing more than $1 billion at the international box office, netting Joaquin Phoenix the Oscar for best Actor, and taking an unorthodox, chilling approach in detailing the origins of one of the most infamous villains in cinematic history, Joker was a resounding success for all concerned parties. Despite this, the announcement that a sequel was in the works was met with a consensus of consternation.

By all appearances, the first Phillips Joker film looked set to be a standalone venture. Then, when reports started circulating that the sequel would be a musical, a collective ‘surely not’ was uttered by all observers – including us. But lo and behold, the film’s first trailer confirmed that it would have a musical aspect. Now a second ‘official trailer’ has revealed that leading man Joaquin Phoenix has some pipes.

Read on to see the trailer, cast, expected plot and everything else we already know about the film.

Is Joker: Folie à Deux a musical?

During the film’s press panel at the 2024 Venice Film Festival, Lady Gaga, who plays Harley Quinn, described the film as “not actually a musical”.

The film reportedly features 15 cover songs and some original music, so this may be a shocking statement. Music was also heavily featured in the film’s trailers: the 1965 song ‘What the World Needs Now Is Love’, and the second has Joker covering Stevie Wonder’s ‘For Once in my Life’. And to not use the musical talents of one of the world’s biggest pop star’s musical talents would be a “mortal sin,” reports Vulture.

But in this sense, Joker: Folie à Deux won’t be your traditional musical. “The way that we approached music in this film was very special and extremely nuanced,” Gaga added. “The way that music is used is to really give the characters a way to express what they need to say because the scene and just dialogue was not enough.”

Is there a new trailer for Joker: Folie à Deux?

There sure is. And while the first trailer did confirm that Joker: Folie à Deux would have musical elements, we didn’t actually get to hear the titular character sing. The second trailer has remedied that, opening with a soft and slightly out of key melody delivered by Phoenix himself. We later see both Joker and Harley Quinn on stage, as if they’re about to burst into song. But whether this is anything but a shared delusion remains to be seen.

See the full official trailer for Joker: Folie à Deux below.

What does ‘folie à deux’ mean?

First things first, what on earth does the second half of that title mean? Is the humble ‘2’ to signify a sequel too played out for auteurs like Phillips? Apparently so.

Anyway, if you’re grasping at straws for an explanation on what folie à deux means, allow us to assist. From French, folie à deux directly translates to ‘madness for two’. The term is used in medical circles – colloquially rather than officially – to describe a rare psychological condition that involves two people sharing the same delusion or mental illness. Appropriate, given how we expect the plot of the film to unfold based on the first trailer.

What is Joker: Folie à Deux about?

When last we saw Arthur Fleck/Joker, he had just completed his deranged apotheosis and reached the peak of his insanity. The obvious question now is where does the Joker go from here. As the film’s official synopsis reads, “Failed comedian Arthur Fleck meets the love of his life, Harley Quinn, while incarcerated at Arkham State Hospital. Upon his release, the two of them embark on a doomed romantic misadventure.”

As to why Arthur Fleck would be released from prison – after committing murder on live television in the previous film – isn’t known. Perhaps a plea of insanity worked in his favour? But the film’s multiple trailers also provide an indication of how the plot could play out.

As the new trailer shows us, this will be a classic tale of boy meets girl – if by ‘boy’ you mean an unhinged serial killer and by ‘girl’ you mean an equally insane psychopathic psychiatrist, which we do. The film will see the Joker meet Dr Harleen Quinzel – better known as Harley Quinn. Fans of all things Gotham City will recognise this meeting as a fated encounter. The Joker and Harley Quinn are one of DC’s storied romances; their relationship taking various forms in many other films and comics. Most recently, we saw Margot Robbie and Jared Leto give the characters a run in 2016’s Suicide Squad.

The specifics of what antics the Joker and his blushing bride will get up to aren’t yet clear. We do see the pair dancing down the steps of a courthouse, on the run from police, and on stage with a live audience. Based on the trailer, this outing will depart from Quinn’s traditional backstory: a psychiatrist who changes her tune after meeting the Joker. She now appears to be a patient at the same mental asylum as the Joker when they first meet.

Who is in Joker: Folie à Deux?

Joaquin Phoenix returns to play the titular Joker.

Lady Gaga will join Phoenix as a co-lead, starring as Dr. Harleen Quinzel/Harley Quinn.

Elsewhere, Zazie Beetz reprises her role as the Joker’s neighbour, whose fate was uncertain at the conclusion of the first film.

Harry Lawtey will star as Gotham district attorney Harvey Dent, aka villain Two-Face. Lawtey, who’s one of season 3 Industry‘s breakout stars, seems to have a niche for playing white collar guys.

Fellow Industry alum Ken Leung will also be in the film. Other cast members include Brendan Gleeson, Catherine Keener, and Steve Coogan.