April 8th marked the release date for the first trailer for Joker: Folie à deux, introducing a musical twist to a story about Gotham's notorious villain.
Fans were left anxiously awaiting to see the sequel for Joker, released in 2019, where the infamous villain Joker was once again depicted in the silver screens. Following the story of Arthur Fleck (interpreted by Joaquin Phoenix), the audience experienced Gotham’s gruesome reality of social inequality, which ended up impacting the unfortunate events that lead to Fleck's transformation into his new persona.
Set in what most likely is Arkham Asylum, the trailer shows the beginning of Arthur’s relationship with Harley in a dark and colorless setting, which progressively turns into a fantasy musical. Based on the information provided by the trailer, it is indicated that Lady Gaga's character, Harley Quinn, will be an active protagonist, with as much importance in the story as the Joker himself. In an interview, Margot Robbie, who played Quinn’s character in other DC works, praises Lady Gaga taking on the challenge of portraying this complex character: “It’s such an honor to have built a foundation strong enough that Harley can now be one of those characters that other actors get to have a go at playing. And I think she’ll do something incredible with it.”
Since its first announcement, the sequel will present a genre shift, introducing musical performances throughout the movie. Expanding from the dancing elements established in scenes from the first movie, the trailer presents colorful and theatrical scenes that symbolize a kind of delusion that involves both characters, while also presenting the characters’ connection in the gray and chaotic real world. By the casting of Lady Gaga, there most definitely will be numerous dancing and singing scenes that might even involve Phoenix's vocal abilities as well.
The estimated budget is around $200 million, making it almost 4 times the first movie’s cost, indicating a shift in production quality. The first movie, while being R rated, was able to profit more than $1 billion, leaving producers confident to invest more into a previously risky project due to its rating.
With its October 3rd debut in Brazil and October 4th premiere in the U.S., audiences worldwide are eagerly awaiting for Joker: Folie à deux. Will it surpass the expectations set by its predecessor?
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