Joker 2 Trailer Hits Multi-Millions Milestone, On Track To Be As Big As Barbie
After a bumpy year with titles including Shazam! Fury of the Gods, The Flash, and Blue Beetle crashing and burning at the box office, DC Studios, and Warner Bros. have their sights set on the upcoming Joker 2 to put them back on track. With the success that’s followed the release of the film’s first trailer, things are looking up, as it’s been reported that the trailer received 167 million views during its first 24 hours out. When put into perspective, this places Joker: Folie à Deux above the first trailer to come from last year’s WB staple, Barbie, which would go on to be the highest-grosser of 2023.
#1 On YouTube
Warner Bros. premiered the trailer for Joker 2 first for the audience at last week’s CinemaCon event in Las Vegas, Nevada, during its presentation at the film-lovers festival, which also included new peeks of Furiosa and Beetlejuice Beetlejuice. The studio immediately shared the teaser for those outside the con, and it became the #1 trending video on YouTube, currently holding the bragging rights of a whopping 29 million views with nowhere to go but up.
A Twisted Love Story
The trailer for Joker 2 better fills out the story that will be told when the film takes center stage on October 4. Changing the meet-cute between Gotham’s most notorious villain and his future girlfriend and partner in crime, the trailer sees Joaquin Phoenix’s titular clown, known as Arthur Fleck, locked up in a mental institution following the events of the 2019 film. We’ve known for a while that Joker: Folie à Deux would have plenty of music weaved throughout, with the teaser showing Lady Gaga’s Harley Quinn and Joaquin Phoenix’s Joker falling madly in love with one another, bonding over their love of laughter and being on the outside of society.
Return of Sophie
Joker 2 will be Lady Gaga’s first time dipping into the world of DC, something that Joaquin Phoenix previously did in the original Joker film. Also, reprising her role from the movie that kicked off, perhaps the darkest franchise that DC has ever seen will be Invincible and Deadpool 2’s Zazie Beetz. Audiences were introduced to Beetz’s character, Sophie Dumond, in the first installment as Arthur’s neighbor and his unrequited love interest, so it will be interesting to see what fate befalls her (and her child) now that Arthur has seemingly moved on with Harley.
Bigger And Bolder Than The Original
There will also be plenty of new-to-Joker faces, including The Banshees of Inisherin and In Bruges star Brendan Gleeson, Get Out’s Catherine Keener, and Tropic Thunder’s Steve Coogan. Returning to helm the film is Todd Phillips, without whom the vision behind Joker 2 would be completely lost. While many of a certain age will undoubtedly connect the director’s name to titles including Road Trip, Old School, and The Hangover trilogy, his dip into the psyche of a madman in Joker may be his best work yet.
We aren’t the only ones who hold that opinion. The first Joker was a critical success, earning Phillips three Academy Award nominations for Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Adapted Screenplay. With so much hype already surrounding the sequel, it’s incredibly possible that Phillips and his creative team will land even more nominations through Joker 2.
Source: Variety
