The Joker 2 trailer is here, and it's packed full of Easter eggs and callbacks.
The trailer is the first time we've seen official footage of Lady Gaga's Harley Quinn, and, interestingly enough, she has plenty of parallels with Joaquin Phoenix's Joker in the first movie. For one thing, she's seen walking up those iconic stairs – which Arthur Fleck danced down in Joker – and later performs a high kick in tandem with Arthur while leaving a courthouse, echoing that dance. She also smears what looks to be blood across her lips, giving herself a grisly smile, much as Joker did at the end of the first movie.
Then there's Harley and Joker's first meeting, in which Harley mimes a finger-gun, which is what Joker did with Zazie Beetz's Sophie in the first film. The trailer also plays with Harley's origin, seeming to reveal her as a patient of Arkham, rather than a psychiatrist, as she is traditionally depicted.
Plus, in one scene, it looks like Joker and Harley are getting married – or are hallucinating a ceremony, anyway. If you look closely, you'll spot Joker's best man is none other than a returning character from the original film.
That's not all, though – there are some allusions to classic cinema, too. For one thing, the colorful umbrellas are a shout out to the musical The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, while Harley and Joker's dance sequences call to mind Old Hollywood musical extravaganzas like Singin' in the Rain. We're also getting some serious La La Land vibes from that rooftop dance.
Considering this is just the first trailer, it looks like we're in for a treat when the film does arrive on October 4. There'll no doubt be plenty to dissect and discuss.
You can keep up to date with the rest of this year's major releases with our guide to 2024's upcoming movie release dates.
