Joaquin Phoenix & Lady Gaga Fall in Love In First Sequel Footage

Phoenix’s Arthur Fleck AKA Joker learns he’s “not alone anymore,” while Gaga transforms into her version of Harley Quinn, who appears to be a patient at Arkham Asylum with Fleck.

Following its presentation at CinemaCon in Las Vegas on Tuesday, Warner Bros. Pictures dropped the first footage for the Todd Phillips-directed Joker sequel, which stars Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga as Arthur Fleck AKA Joker and Harley Quinn, respectively.

The trailer finds Phoenix’s Joker meeting Gaga’s Quinn in Arkham Asylum, and unlike the comics, Harley Quinn appears not to be a psychologist or psychiatrist, but a patient like Fleck. According to the footage, the two seemingly fall in (mad) love and become partners in crime, with Gaga transforming into her version of Quinn and Phoenix’s Fleck embracing his alter ego once again.

As previously revealed, the DC Comics film will be part musical, and the trailer reflects that. The footage — which features a version of “What the World Needs Now Is Love,” teases musical numbers with fantasy elements.

Meanwhile, from the new footage, it definitely appears that the sequel — not unlike the first one — will focus on Fleck’s mental illness,” but with the addition of Gaga’s Quinn.

When asked what “changed” about him, Phoenix’s Joker says, “Well, I’ll tell you what’s changed. I’m not alone anymore.”

As for the overall plot of the film, it’s worth noting that “folie à deux” is “defined as an identical or similar mental disorder affecting two or more individuals, usually the members of a close family,” according to the National Library of Medicine.

The new film will be released exactly five years — to the day — after the first one. Joker, which was released in 2019, received 11 Academy Award nominations, and won two, including Best Actor for Phoenix.

Watch the trailer, for Joker: Folie à Deux, above!

Joker: Folie à Deux hits theaters October 4, 2024.