UPDATE: A sequel to the 2019 movie Joker is officially in development.
On Tuesday, director Todd Phillips shared a couple of photos on Instagram. The first one was a pic of the sequel’s script cover, revealing that the draft was finalized in late May and was co-written by Scott Silver and Phillips himself. The sequel’s working title, Joker: Folie à Deux, can also be seen in the first pic. Interestingly, Folie à Deux refers to a psychiatric syndrome where two or more people begin to share delusions.
The second photo included on Phillips’ Instagram post was a snapshot of Joaquin Phoenix. The pic shows the Oscar-winning actor reading the draft, confirming that he is coming back to reprise the titular role in the sequel.
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ORIGINAL STORY: The official announcement for the Joker movie sequel is reportedly coming out soon.
Is there a Joker 2 coming out?
While a Joker 2 has been rumored to be in the works since the first movie grossed $1.074 billion at the worldwide box office and its star Joaquin Phoenix won Best Actor at the 92nd Academy Awards, Warner Bros. Discovery has yet to officially greenlight the sequel. But a recent report by Puck News claimed that Warner Bros. Pictures is “getting pretty close” to greenlighting the Joker movie sequel, which will also be helmed by Joker director Todd Philipps.
Puck News’ report comes a day after The Hollywood Reporter published a story claiming that David Zaslav, CEO and president of Warner Bros. Discovery, asked Phillips to serve as an advisor to DC Films. Sources told the news outlet that Zaslav and Phillips have built a rapport that contributed to the rumored interest in the director’s increased services across Warner Bros. Discovery’s DC Films output.
The Joker movie sequel development
Despite the follow-up film being unconfirmed, a May 2021 story from The Hollywood Reporter claimed that Phillips had made a deal to write the sequel. Fast-forward to January 2022, Heroic Hollywood reported that Warner Bros. received a draft of the Joker movie sequel script and was making plans to begin production sometime in 2023.
However, two months later, The Ankler (via The Direct) reported that the follow-up movie hit a snag, as the work on the script slackened. It’s unclear what exactly the issue was, but the story pointed out that Phillips had not yet turned in a draft of the film’s script.
If Warner Bros. Pictures is indeed “getting pretty close” to greenlighting the Joker movie sequel, then fans can assume that issues with the script have already been amended.
Is Joaquin Phoenix doing Joker 2?
An official announcement on Phoenix’s Joker 2 return has yet to be made. But it would be pointless if the actor doesn’t reprise his titular role in the sequel.
Phoenix previously expressed interest in playing the Joker again, noting that there is more to explore with the character. He, however, pointed out that he would only do another Joker movie under the right circumstances.
“From when we were shooting, we started to — you know, uhh, this is an interesting guy,” Phoenix said of his character in an interview with The Playlist last November. “There are some things we could do with this guy and could [explore] further. But as to whether we actually will? I don’t know.”
What will happen in Joker 2?
Plot details for the Joker movie sequel are being kept under wraps, so it’s hard to tell where Phillips may take the story next. But since the first movie wrapped up with an open ending, there are many different narratives Joker 2 can explore.
Whatever that may be, fans can expect the Joker movie sequel to introduce new and familiar DC characters, possibly including a young Bruce Wayne, as many of the supporting characters from the first movie met their untimely demise.