Stellar Soundtracks: Joker

If the trailers are any indication, the highly anticipated comic-book-villain origin story Joker is going to include some excellent music choices.

The first teaser released in April appropriately features the uplifting song “Smile” by Jimmy Durante, at first in lighthearted moments before taking on darker, more sinister connotations as the trailer shows glimpses of Arkham State Hospital, an agitated patient, maniacal laughter, and more that undoubtedly makes the infamous Batman villain who he is, with the intensity of the snippets increasing as the music swells in a wonderfully disturbing juxtaposition until we finally get to that iconic Joker look.

The final trailer for the film, released Wednesday, follows a similar pattern. It opens with a pre-villainous Arthur entertaining a small child as light notes play on a piano and quickly descends into darkness and chaos, with that creepy laugh again and a voiceover of Arthur talking to his therapist about negative thoughts as we see him being attacked. Again, the music swells as we see more glimpses of the Joker, as well as more violence and chaos. This time, as the trailer ends, we hear the famous line from “Send in the Clowns” from the Stephen Sondheim musical A Little Night Music. And while the song is not actually about clowns, the line fits well when taken literally in this context but also when considering that the film shows a man’s descent.

Trailers are designed to get our attention, and these ones have certainly succeeded. Hopefully, the final product features similar choices.

Joker hits theaters Oct. 4.