The first official teaser trailer for the new Joker film has just been released, but fans can’t help but notice one thing.
Is that… Steve Coogan?
Now, we’re not for one second suggesting that an actor as talented as Middleton‘s very-own shouldn’t be booking roles left, right, and centre – especially following the success of his chilling turn as disgraced broadcaster, Jimmy Savile, in the BBC drama miniseries The Reckoning last year, which earned him a well-deserved BAFTA nomination – but we can’t exactly say we were expecting this’d be his next appearance.
Film and comic book fans have been highly-anticipating the release of the next instalment in the Joker franchise since the first film, Joker, starring Joaquin Phoenix in his Oscar-winning lead role, came out to critical acclaim back in 2019.
And now, their wait is finally over, as the first trailer for the sequel, Joker: Folie à Deux, has just been unleashed onto the world ahead of its release in October.
As you’d expect, within less than 24 hours since its release, the nearly-three-minute teaser trailer – which sees Phoenix reprise his role as Arthur Fleck / Joker, alongside Lady Gaga as Harley Quinn – for the upcoming musical psychological thriller film has already amassed several millions of views across all platforms it was shared on, and fans have been flocking in their thousands to social media and the comments sections to share their thoughts.
But, our personal favourite reactions to the trailer all lead back to one man… and that man, is Steve Coogan.
Coogan steals the scene with his hard-hitting one line: “Tell us, what’s changed, Arthur?”
Of course, with this being merely a teaser trailer, and Coogan’s currently-unnamed role only expected to be a supporting one, it’s probably not surprising that his appearance in the trailer takes up just two seconds of time – but within those two seconds, it appears he’s certainly made an impression.
Film fans on social media have been quick to share their surprise and comical reactions to seeing Coogan in the trailer.
“I can’t believe we live in a world where Steve Coogan and Lady Gaga are in a film together,” one fan wrote on X.
Another surprised comment reads: “Steve Coogan being in the Joker 2 trailer for 2 seconds is the strongest case for the film I’ve seen.”
"This Joker 2 trailer actually looks okay WAIT STEVE COOGAN?!?!"
A second fan commented: “I actually laughed out loud when Steve Coogan appeared in the Joker trailer,” while a third wrote: “Steve Coogan is the only reason I’ll be seated for Joker 2,” and a fourth added: “If this scene in the Joker 2 isn’t just Steve Coogan and The Joker seeing who does the better Michael Caine impression, then what the f**k are we even doing here.”
“Steve Coogan is in this, so Joker 2 is now part of the Alan Partridge Extended Universe,” another fan comically wrote on X.
Another fan wrote: “Steve Coogan caught me off guard.”
Basically, if we’re to try and sum the overall reaction of fans up in one simple word, that word would have to be shock.
To be honest, we think this fan on X put it best: “Steve Coogan was the last person I expected to turn up in the Joker 2 trailer, but here we are.”
Joker: Folie à Deux is scheduled for a worldwide release on 4 October 2024.
Featured Image – Warner Bros. Pictures
Trending
Darts returns to Manchester as Premier League dates are confirmed for 2026
Danny Jones
The schedule for the 2026 Premier League Darts tour has been officially announced, with the PDC’s annual championship returning to Manchester once again.
PDC Premier League fixtures continue to grow in popularity both in TV figures and live match attendance, with a whole new generation of fans getting into ‘the arrows’.
Just as it has for decades now, league darts is coming back to Manchester city centre and the legendary AO Arena once again, with our date landing right in the middle of the season.
Booking a big night right in the middle of a crucial period in the competition? It sounds like 0161 is set to welcome another blockbuster night up at the oche.
Confirmed on Thursday, 11 September, next year’s PDC Premier League Darts campaign will get underway in February, spanning the course of four months and eight countries.
Of the European cities on the circuit, the tournament will be heading to Belgium for the very first time, as the AFAS Dome in Antwerp replaces Exeter.
Elsewhere on the continent, there are two other mainland evenings in Germany and the Netherlands, along with multiple Northern dates here in the UK, such as Liverpool, Leeds and Sheffield.
As for Manchester, we’ve been selected for round nine of 17 (including the finals), with the AO Arena set to welcome multiple favoured competitors from the North West, including 18-year-old phenomenon Luke Little from down the road in Warrington, as well as Stockport’s very own Nathan Aspinall.
It was an unforgettable experience for Aspinall last time around in his local event, as he finally managed to win a PDC Premier League night on home turf for the first time in his career.
Those hoping to enjoy a night of darts in front of a Manchester crowd on April 26, 2026, still have to be patient for now, as general admission is still a little way off.
However, if you are interested, you can sign up for the AO’s newsletter to find out more information and get yourself on the waiting list early.
Better, if you go straight through the PDC, you can throw your hat in the ring for the presale window right now and be first in line to grab tickets when they go live.
You can do so HERE and, until then, get your signs and fancy dress at the ready because we’ll be heading back to the ‘boring, boring tables’ soon enough.
See the 2026 PDC Premier League Darts schedule in full down below:
Manchester City said no to a pretty significant player swap with Liverpool last year
Danny Jones
Manchester City reportedly rejected a transfer proposal involving swapping one of their youngest and most exciting stars with close rivals Liverpool in 2024
This could have proved to be an interesting one…
Man City aren’t exactly short on forwards at the moment and have brought in plenty of attacking options over the past year, and with Erling Haaland breaking all manner of records up front for them, they didn’t find it too hard to sell on another promising young striker in Julián Álvarez for a club record sale.
However, as per recent claims made by a Telegraph Sport journalist, there was a possibility of Álvarez swapping the blue of City for the red of Liverpool.
🚨🚨| In summer 2024, when Liverpool realised Luis Díaz wanted to join Man City, their recruitment team proposed the Colombian to the Etihad Stadium in exchange for Julián Alvarez. Man City said: “We don’t sell to rivals." Liverpool said: “Neither do we then."
That’s according to football writer Chris Bascombe, anyway, who recently wrote that the two Premier League sides could have engaged in a player swap deal were the division’s then Treble-winners willing to negotiate with the only other team that has really contested the title with them in recent years.
As you can see, Bascombe states that Luis Díaz wanted a switch to the Etihad Stadium even before the current English champions shuffled their front three.
This has been backed up by The Times’ Paul Joyce as well, who says that the Colombian winger was ultimately “unsettled” by interest from City and others
Díaz (who recently signed for Bayern Munich) made it clear he wanted to play under Pep Guardiola, and it seems there was at least some willingness from the Merseyside outfit.
Provided they get an increasingly wantaway Julián Álvarez in return.
With Haaland having been brought in and making himself comfortably the go-to number nine for what could very well be the next decade, they clearly saw an opportunity to offer him an alternative, but Man City simply said, “We don’t sell to rivals.”
Ultimately, the now 25-year-old World Cup winner went to Europe, joining Atletico Madrid for a whopping £81.5m.
Regardless, it seems hard to imagine not only two top-flight English teams doing a deal like this but to picture what it would have been like to see Álvarez, who was still very highly thought of among a large section of supporters, being cheered on by the fans inside Anfield.
The Argentinian striker – though he has been utilised in a variety of positions at the top end of the pitch – has well and truly shone in La Liga, and now looks like he could be set to swap Madrid for Barcelona.
Álvarez has apparently made it clear to those closest to him that he wants Barca, and despite the summer window closing, the Catalan giants could pursue a deal to sign him next year when his contract expires, or indeed, even go after him this January.
Meanwhile, after bringing in plenty of new talent over the past few months, with Manchester City now effectively being given the green light to proceed with a major commercial sponsorship deal, you could very well see yet more big money being spent in seasons to come.
Emily Sergeant -
10th April 2024 
