Joker Folie à Deux Trailer Analysis & Thoughts

During CInemaCon last week, Warner Bros decided to release the trailer for Joker Folie à deux. Today I would like to give you my thoughts and breakdown of the new trailer.

Joker Meets Harley

We follow back up with Arthur Fleck (Joker), played by Joaquin Phoenix. Fleck is currently in Arkham Asylum, and while being taken by guards, he passes by Harleen Quinzel (Harley Quin), played by Lady Gaga. It looks like the story here is being changed a bit, because instead of Harley being a doctor and then seduced by the Joker to make her crazy, it looks like she’s already a patient. I personally don’t mind the change, I know some people are complaining about it.

As the trailer goes, the music keeps on ramping, and the movie turns more and more into a musical. Now, I know director, Todd Phillips said that this movie is less of a musical, just a movie with music elements. The movie has also been described as a jukebox musical. People have said that there will be 15 covers of popular songs. So, I wouldn’t be surprised if there were some Lady Gaga covers in there. There’s also a clip of Harley walking the same steps, Fleck did in the original movie. I think that this is before she becomes a patient, and she is just walking her normal life. I also get a sense of jealousy from Harley, like when she says, “I haven’t done anything with my life like you have.” Throughout the trailer you see admirers of Joker. Harley Quinn is a big admirer of Fleck.

The World is a Stage

A spotlight shines on Joker, and life turns into a play. Arthur and Harley breakout into dance, and the song, “What The World Needs Now Is Love”, plays along. It’s the view of Harley and Joker, and they think the world needs their love, but really they could go better without it.

Joker can then be seen running from fans of his, dressed similarly to him. Based on the last movie, Arthur Fleck has really made an impact on the criminals of Gotham. Joker is practically a celebrity among the dark side of Gotham, but I just think that in this situation he was overwhelmed. When he is being chased by these “fans” they get hit by two cop cars, and later, Fleck can be seen in one of those cars. What I think happened was that, Arthur was running away from the cops, and two fans noticed him, and chased after him. When having three Jokers on the loose, you’re bound to get confused on who is who.

Joker and Harley Cause Chaos

We then see that Joker and Harley have taken over the talk show, that appeared in the last movie. This time the lights show, Joker & Harley. Arthur is then dragged down this hall by what looks like the same guards from before. How I think this fits in is the fact that Harley earlier said, “You wanna get outta here?” I think that they might get a chance to escape the asylum, which will lead them to dance in the street. Now hold on, let me cook. After they do their dance number in the streets, the Joker seduces Harley more, and more, and they become tied together by the chaos they make. This gets them in trouble so that’s why Joker is on the run from the cops. I then think that the scene where he gets pulled down the hallways is what happens next.

Okay, so after Joker is being pulled down the hall, we get a shot at Lady Gaga in a new Harley Quinn costume, walking up the same steps we later see them on, at this court building. This then gave me some new thoughts on the timeline of the movie. Matching the scene that we get with Joker sand Harley doing the kick on the steps, and some early look photos from before, I got a rough estimate of the timeline. In the one of the pictures we get Author Fleck in the Joker costume in make up. The thing is, it hasn’t been competed yet. In the same picture, he catches the eye of Harleen Quinzel. At this point in time, she doesn’t look crazy yet. In the trailer we get a scene where the two are outside the court building, celebrating, and wearing the same clothes.

Harley turned by Joker

It can be seen that Joker has won some court case, and he is free of charge. I think that Harleen Quinzel is a lawyer in this story, and she’s had her eye on Fleck for a while. I then think that Harley will decide to defend Arthur in court, and that is when the Joker turns her into the psychotic Harley Quin she is, and they will soon unleash rampage to the city. Going back to Gaga in her new outfit, I think that is where she will be going back for revenge. And how I think they’re going to get that revenge is by blowing up the court house. I say that because it is later in the trailer, where we see this massive explosion.

The last thing I want to talk about before I give you what I think is the timeline of the movie, is the imagery we get at the end of the trailer. Harley Quinn says, “I want to see the real you”. She then paints a smile on the glass with her lipstick, and Arthur aligns he face with the glass so perfectly, that he fits a smile, right on the lipstick.

Movie Timeline Based off of Trailer

So, here is my theory on how the timeline is going to be all put into one. I think that, picking up after the last movie, Joker is going to be facing trial, for killing someone on TV. This is where we’re going to meet Harleen Quinzel, who has had her eye on Joker, starting to wonder what if she had the life he had. I think instead of Harleen being his doctor like in the comics, I think she is going to be Joker’s lawyer. That is where we see them celebrate outside the courthouse, because somehow Fleck got out free without charge. I then think we’re going to cut to Fleck that got himself in Arkham Asylum, and that is where he notices Harleen at the choir, when being escorted. They are then going to be sat next to each other during the performance, and that is where we’re going to see them escape, and dance in the rain. I think there will then be time for Fleck to rub off on Quin a bit (metaphorically and physically), but that is when Joker is chased by the police.

Once he gets caught by the police, that’s when he will be dragged down that hall. I then think that Harley would have somehow escaped, probably because she isn’t known like Joker is. That’s when we see Harley wants to see the real Joker, and he will then commit back to the Joker. I think the two will then escape again, but this time get revenge on the courthouse from before, and blow the place up.

My Thoughts on the Trailer

Those were just my theories and my analysis of the trailer, but I never really got to say my actual thoughts on it. This had to be one of my favorite trailers so far this year. This feels like a beautiful movie, and the imagery here was great. Like I said, this isn’t going to be a straight up musical, but it will have musical elements. I think the music in here could really benefit the movie. It could bring a different feel compared to the other one, because this time the madness is being shared between Harley and Joker. Joker Folie à deux will release October 4th, 2024.

That is going to be it for today’s blog. Thank you so much for reading, I hope you liked it. This trailer got me really excited to see more, I can’t wait for them to release more from the movie. The trailer was actually shown at CinemaCon, so make sure you go check out my Warner Bros recap from that day. Feel free to check out more from The Big Stinker Blog, at anytime, for I will have daily blogs for you to go visit. Until next time stinkers, bye bye.