Joaquin Phoenix cry-laughs his way through the first rain-soaked teaser for Joker: Folie à Deux

Joaquin Phoenix is not the happiest inmate at Gotham City's psychiatric hospital prison Arkham Asylum in the first teaser for the highly-anticipated sequel Joker: Folie à Deux.

The 49-year-old method actor scored a $20M paycheck to reprise his Oscar-winning role as emaciated comedian Arthur Fleck, who's imprisoned after his psychopathic crime spree resulted in the deaths of seven people.

In the 30-second clip, Joaquin - who shed 52lbs in first film - performs a maniacal cry-laugh while standing alone in the pouring rain as the Instagram caption promises the first full-length trailer will be unveiled on Tuesday night at 6:30pm PT.

The preview showed no sign of Arthur's psychiatrist Dr. Harleen Quinzel (Lady Gaga), whose alter ego Harley Quinn emerges after she forms an obsessive, deadly romantic relationship with him.

The 37-year-old Golden Globe-winning actress - who scored a $12M paycheck - also went method on set as she crafted her first character since affecting a bad Italian accent as the hitman-hiring Patrizia Reggiani in Ridley Scott's 2021 drama House of Gucci.

Joaquin Phoenix is not the happiest inmate at Gotham City's psychiatric hospital prison Arkham Asylum in the first teaser for the highly-anticipated sequel Joker: Folie à Deux

'The world is a stage' is the tagline for the Warner Bros. jukebox musical, which features 15 covers of 'very well-known songs' such as Arthur Schwartz and Howard Dietz's track That's Entertainment made famous by Judy Garland in 1960 - according to Variety.

There will also be one or two original songs, likely penned by Lady Gaga (born Stefani Germanotta), who won an Oscar in 2019 for co-writing A Star is Born anthem, Shallow.

Joker: Folie à Deux has been rated R by the MPAA 'for some strong violence, language throughout, some sexuality, and brief full nudity.'

Todd Phillips' $200M-budget sequel - hitting US/UK theaters October 4 - will also feature Zazie Beetz, Brendan Gleeson, Catherine Keener, Jacob Lofland, and Harry Lawtey.

The 53-year-old filmmaker has been teasing several stills from his DC Comics supervillain origin tale on his official Instagram account.

'Something I appreciate about Todd Phillips — who I've done seven movies with, including Joker — is that he's always taking risks,' cinematographer Lawrence Sher told Definition Magazine last November.

'We're just finishing up post-production on it. This movie is a big swing and it's going to be really surprising to people. I'm so excited for everyone to see it.'

The 1981-set first film Joker made history in 2019 as the highest-grossing R-rated film of all time, amassing $1.079B at the global box office despite mixed reviews.

The 49-year-old method actor scored a $20M paycheck to reprise his Oscar-winning role as emaciated comedian Arthur Fleck, who's imprisoned after his psychopathic crime spree resulted in the deaths of seven people

In the 30-second clip, Joaquin - who shed 52lbs in first film - performs a maniacal cry-laugh while standing alone in the pouring rain as the Instagram caption promises the first full-length trailer will be unveiled on Tuesday night at 6:30pm PT

The preview showed no sign of Arthur's psychiatrist Dr. Harleen Quinzel (Lady Gaga), whose alter ego Harley Quinn emerges after she forms an obsessive, deadly romantic relationship with him 

The 37-year-old Golden Globe-winning actress - who scored a $12M paycheck - also went method on set as she crafted her first character since affecting a bad Italian accent as the hitman-hiring Patrizia Reggiani in Ridley Scott's 2021 drama House of Gucci 

'The world is a stage' is the tagline for the Warner Bros. jukebox musical, which features 15 covers of 'very well-known songs' such as Arthur Schwartz and Howard Dietz's track That's Entertainment made famous by Judy Garland in 1960 

There will also be one or two original songs, likely penned by Lady Gaga (born Stefani Germanotta), who won an Oscar in 2019 for co-writing A Star is Born anthem, Shallow

Joker: Folie à Deux has been rated R by the MPAA 'for some strong violence, language throughout, some sexuality, and brief full nudity' 

Todd Phillips' $200M-budget sequel - hitting US/UK theaters October 4 - will also feature Zazie Beetz, Brendan Gleeson, Catherine Keener, Jacob Lofland, and Harry Lawtey

The 53-year-old filmmaker has been teasing several stills from his DC Comics supervillain origin tale on his official Instagram account 

DP Lawrence Sher told Definition Magazine last November: 'This movie is a big swing and it's going to be really surprising to people. I'm so excited for everyone to see it' 

The 1981-set first film Joker made history in 2019 as the highest-grossing R-rated film of all time, amassing $1.079B at the global box office despite mixed reviews