Joker: Folie à Deux official teaser trailer reaction

‘Joker: Folie à Deux’ is the highly anticipated sequel to the 2019 ‘Joker’ spin-off film, the film that gave the Clown Prince of Crime a gritty origin story. It focused on how the inability to help those with mental health issues creates monsters, both at a societal and an individual level. ‘Folie à Deux’ keeps this mental health angle, as it means a shared delusion or mental illness.

Harley Quinn will be introduced in this film, in an interpretation played by Lady Gaga. This will be a musical, and the trailer doesn’t hide that. It’s a great opportunity to experiment with the comic book genre, especially as audiences have grown increasingly bored of the staleness it’s showing.

The trailer opens with Arthur Fleck in Arkham, going about his routine of annoying guards until he sees the woman of his dreams who will be joining the inmates. The pair cross eyes and a romance is formed instantly. The romantic genre is the second important bit of this film, as most of the trailer shows the twisted but undeniable connection growing between Fleck and Quinn.

This further adds to the uniqueness of ‘Folie à Deux’ as while superheroes have very often had a romantic interest, this was always incidental to the broader action, and thus was never of any note.

But there still will be action, as of course Harley and Fleck escape Arkham, though they don’t seem to be seeking out the same mad criminal behaviour of typical incarnations. Rather, they’re opening a show together, that will likely conclude with the murder of someone. Who it is at this point is unclear, as the Waynes are already dead. Could they be targeting the Gotham Police Department, and threaten a younger Jim Gordan?

There will likely be some continued social commentary, as huge crowds and police vehicles loom over the main characters. The first ‘Joker’ showed how if society fails those who need help, then there’s no telling what monsters people might become. This message is likely to be reiterated, but hopefully, it will be built upon so the film doesn’t feel repetitive.

The last shot of the trailer is particularly well-staged and shot, with Fleck matching his smile to one drawn on glass in red pen. It’s an ominous warning that audiences will likely see the pair cause some carnage as their romance buds.

The first trailer for ‘Folie à Deux’ shows off a comic book that dares to be different, which will make it worth seeing for many people ‘Folie à Deux’ releases on October 4.