Dancing With the Stairs: Joker and Harley Kick It on New Joker 2 IMAX Poster

Cue “Rock and Roll Part 2” part deux. Arthur Fleck (Joaquin Phoenix) and Harleen “Lee” Quinzel (Lady Gaga) — better known as Joker and Harley Quinn — descend into madness on a new IMAX poster for Joker: Folie à Deux, which sees the clown-faced couple dance on the graffitied staircase made famous in 2019’s Joker. (While Phoenix and Gaga were spotted filming on the now-iconic “Joker Stairs” in the Bronx, the trailer shows Joker and Harley performing their eye-high kicks on the steps of the Gotham City courthouse where Arthur is on trial for his crimes committed in the first film).

The IMAX-exclusive poster came with an announcement that Joker 2 will screen in IMAX 70mm — a rare format which recently had hot-ticket runs for Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer and Denis Villeneuve’s Dune: Part Two — on just 30 premium screens worldwide (19 of which are located in the United States). Tickets for all versions of the film, including the wide IMAX release and IMAX 70mm, go on sale September 9th.

The Joker sequel finds Arthur Fleck institutionalized at Arkhamawaiting trial for his crimes as Joker. While struggling with his dualidentity, Arthur not only stumbles upon true love, but also finds themusic that’s always been inside him. In addition to Phoenix and Gaga, the cast includes Zazie Beetz (Deadpool 2), Brendan Gleeson (The Banshees ofInisherin), Steve Coogan (the Alan Partridge comedies), Catherine Keener (Get Out), Ken Leung (X-Men: The Last Stand), and Harry Lawtey (HBO’s Industry) as Gotham City District Attorney Harvey Dent, who is prosecuting the Joker trial.

After incorporating Gary Glitter’s “Rock and Roll Part 2” into the first Joker, director Todd Phillips’ R-rated follow-up features musical sequences set to classic songs like “Get Happy,” “That’s Life,” and “When You’re Smiling” — but Phillips insists Joker 2 isn’t a musical. At least not in the traditional sense.

“Most of the music in the movie is really just dialogue. It’s just Arthur not having the words to say what he wants tosay, so he sings them instead,” Phillips told Variety, adding that characters don’t break out into song. Instead, most of the musical numbers are a manifestation of the shared psychosis between Arthur and Lee — the titular “folie à deux,” which means “madness for two.”

Joker: Folie à Deux opens in theaters October 4th.