Two things: first, it’s probably wrong to call Todd Phillips’ Joker: Folie à Deux a riff on Martin Scorsese’s New York, New York — in retrospect, it looks a little closer to something like Herbert Ross’ Pennies From Heaven (and honestly, if you haven’t checked that out yet, you should — there’s a Chris Walken number in there for the ages). But because Joker chewed up and spat out The King of Comedy, it’s kind of inevitable. Second, it’s just too fun to crack wise about potential sequels and spin-offs in the Joker franchise, so we’ll keep on alluding to that misidentified source material as if it were gospel. Make a movie about Joaquin Phoenix’s great-great-great grandfather farting too loud during the draft riots? Call it Joker: Gags of New York. How about one where Arthur Fleck is the 14th mindstream emanation of the Dalai Lama? Call it Joker: Pundun. Or how about one where Lady Gaga strikes out on her own after Phoenix is killed in a car accident and winds up falling in love with a divorced and two-faced DA? Call it Harley Doesn’t Live Here Anymore. You can make so many gags out of this thin premise for a joke (and amuse yourself even if nobody’s laughing at them).
Anyway, it’s Cinemacon time in Vegas, so Warner Bros. dropped the first teaser for the film late on Tuesday night, and it looks like what you’d expect from a self-serious jukebox musical about psychotic Batman villains. And we’re hyped for it.
Peep it:
In lieu of a proper synopsis from the studio, here’s how Variety describes it:
“The first film served as a moody origin story for the Joker, who is portrayed in this cinematic universe a reclusive, struggling stand-up comedian and part-time clown. In the sequel, he takes his act on the road and performs on all kinds of stages with Harley Quinn as his demented muse — and she’s wearing his signature makeup, smeared lipstick and all. This time around, though, Arthur Fleck doesn’t seem so lonely.”
Joker: Folie à Deux will hit theaters and IMAX on October 4. Props to Phillips for that release date, though — in the midst of what’s going to be a pretty stressful couple of months, it’ll be dope to have every shitposter online circlejerking about this instead of everything else going on.