by Jesse Hudgins
After years of anticipation and speculation on whether the movie would even be happening, the sequel to the 2019 movie Joker has gotten its first trailer.
Dropping on April 9, the trailer gives us our first look at what to expect from what’s said to be a “pseudo musical.” Big dance scenes that are accompanied by over-the-top sets give us glimpses at what kind of “musical” this movie will be. It doesn’t give us the full picture, as a trailer shouldn’t, but even scratching the surface is tough for this one.
This trailer also introduces us to a new iteration of Harley Quinn that will be brought to life by famous musician and Oscar nominated actress Lady Gaga. This version of the character seems like it’ll stray away from the canonical origin story of being the Joker’s psychiatrist and will just be a patient at Arkham Asylum. If this is the case, it perfectly reflects the meaning of the movie’s subtitle, Folie A Deux, which translates to “folly of two,” or shared delusional disorder. This tracks even more throughout the trailer as they replay many moments from the first movie, but with Harley as the stare of the scenes. Some examples include her miming like she’s shooting herself, her using blood as face paint, and even the famous stairwell dance from the first movie. If this is the case, the story could play out very interestingly in how Joker reacts to someone who’s just like him acting the way he does.
One of the biggest personal sighs of relief is that the cinematography of the movie looks even better than the first, which had fantastic cinematography. Great use of angles playing with colors, perspective, and letting a set and scene explain itself is prevalent all throughout. The one scene that’s getting the most attention, though, is the very last scene of the trailer. Someone, presumably Harley Quinn, is sitting opposite the Joker on the other side of visitation glass. She pulls out lip stick and proceeds to draw a smile on the glass and the camera adjusts so the lipstick lines up directly with the Joker’s smile. It’s such a simple shot, but it does so much to add to the scene.
Overall, the trailer does a really good job building the excitement for the much-anticipated sequel while not giving away a lot of the plot. Hopefully, it lives up to the expectation set by the original, and so far, things are looking good.
