Update: Not so fast! There is now a competing report via Deadline that not only have there been no meetings about a Joker sequel, but that director Todd Phillips has not pitched other DC origin stories to Warner Bros. While we'd expect both to happen at some future point, they don't appear to be in the works just yet. At least officially...
There it is. Mere days after_Jokercrossed the$1 billion mark at the worldwide box office, it looks like a follow-up to the initially standalone DC Comics villain movie is on the cards. The film, set apart from Warner Bros’ wider DCEU, has proved a major draw in cinemas, and according toThe Hollywood Reporter_, filmmakerTodd Phillipsis in talks to direct a sequel.
Not only that, but according to the report Phillips proposed an idea to develop several origin movies for DC Comics characters – though it sounds like that maybe isn’t on the cards right now. If Phillips does sign on for more Joker, it’s expected that he would once again write the screenplay alongside Scott Silver, and that Joaquin Phoenix would return in the title role.
While the film was pitched as a standalone character study, the film’s success naturally saw discussion turn to potential continuations. Speaking toEmpire upon Joker’s release, Phillips admitted that there had been some sequel talk – if nothing concrete. “Joaquin and I would constantly talk about a sequel on set,” the said. “We’ve never seriously discussed it and still haven’t, because we really always envisioned it as its own standalone thing.”
If a second Joker film does happen, it raises plenty of questions about where Arthur Fleck goes next. While the first film saw him fully emerge into (a version of) the Joker come the finale, it also established that – SPOILER ALERT – the version of Bruce Wayne in this timeline is but a small child, surely not set to become Batman for a good 15-20 years at least. Plus, the Batman stuff is all far more likely to be tackled (in a different DC timeline) by Matt Reeves’ The Batman. If Fleck escapes from Arkham Asylum, where does he go, and what does he want? Good luck to Phillips and Silver, who’ll be tasked with answering those questions.
There’s no comment from Warner Bros or anyone involved at this stage, so this isn’t official yet – but stay tuned for updates. Ironically, it looks like a comic book movie that aimed to subvert Hollywood’s current trends for interconnectivity and franchise potential might just live up to that legacy after all – even Arthur Fleck would see the funny side in that.