The future looks extremely bright for the DCU, with James Gunn’s Superman set to take over theaters in 2025. But not all DC characters have it so lucky, and director Todd Phillips is set to wallow back into the muck with Joaquin Phoenix for the highly anticipated Joker: Folie à Deux. The WB sequel’s first trailer made quite a splash upon its release, as it gave audiences our first extended look at Arthur Fleck’s next reign of madness, with Lady Gaga joining the ride as fan-favorite Harleen Quinzel. But there was also an amusing detail that many fans probably missed while watching.
The first Joker: Folie à Deux trailer kicked off with the comedy-influenced killer being dragged around while in custody, where he first locks eyes with his dark and demented soulmate. It’s not long before Arthur is back out in the world, even if it’s not entirely clear how that happens, and he obviously partners up with Harley to bring his signature brand of chaos to the streets for the not-quite-a-musical feature.
That chaos extends to the steps of the local court house, where a huge crowd amasses to witness the makeup-donning duo heading up the steps. And it’s during that crowd scene where the unexpectedly hilarious detail pops up, particularly when Gaga and Phoenix are together and high-kicking. That’s when someone on the left side of the crowd is holding up a copy of the Gotham City Journal, whose editors made quite the bizarre choice with the front page story they paired with Arthur’s release news.
I definitely understand how Gotham City’s newsfeed was likely so hooked into Arthur’s story that other local events and updates paled in comparison. (Not easy to do with such an already pale dude.) But that doesn’t mean that Gotham City just stopped in its tracks while all this was happening. It’s still meant to be as bustling a metro center as New York or Los Angeles. So why is this the first thing that appears underneath the massive cover story about Arthur being freed?
Unimaginable Car Deals
If the Gotham City Journal was a real-world publication, I could give it the benefit of the doubt in assuming that the bottom section of the front page was dedicated ad space. But this is a movie, and that newspaper’s design was completely up to the discretion of those working on the movie, which reportedly boasts a budget of around $200 million.
But instead of a potential easter egg about the Cobblepot family or up-and-coming attorney Harvey Dent, we get a promotion for car deals that aren’t just unbelievable, but are incapable of being conceived by the human imagination.
Perhaps it’s actually just a very low-stakes plot conceived by Scarecrow, where he gets Gotham City citizens to fear the idea of vehicles that they can’t properly think about. Fun thinking about what the 2.0 version of that Fear Toxin would be.
Oddly enough, that very same group shot also features a crowd member who may or may not be a visual nod to R&B legend Prince’s look in his “Batdance” era. (Not really a whole era, but probably should have been.) Check it out:
It’s not like a mirrored reflection or anything, but with enough similarities to still seem vaguely legit, from the purple jacket to the curled-up hair to the seemingly pale makeup. This person’s reddish undershirt sleeve even sticks out the same way Prince’s did in the “Batdance” video. Again, not super-precise, but it doesn’t need to be. Of course now I'm really hoping that track makes it into Todd Phillips' final cut...
Joker: Folie à Deux will dance and sing its way into theaters on October 4, 2024, so be sure to have your facial makeup planned just right. Check out all the other upcoming DC movies that are coming down the pipeline.
