Joker Director Says He Will Make a Sequel Under One Condition

Ever since the film blew away box office predictions, earned a ton of acclaim on the festival circuit, and has been praised by fans across the globe, people have been wondering about a sequel to Joaquin Phoenix‘s Joker. And while the actor has seemed open to the possibility of returning to play Arthur Fleck for another round of mayhem, the film’s director has not been as receptive to the idea of making Joker 2. But in a recent interview conducted in the wake of the film’s massive success, he might be coming around to the idea.

While speaking with the Los Angeles Times, Joker director Todd Phillips explained that there’s nothing in the works at this point in time.

“But it couldn’t just be this wild and crazy movie about the ‘Clown Prince of Crime,’” said Phillips. “It would have to have some thematic resonance in a similar way that this does. Because I think that’s ultimately why the movie connected, it’s what’s going on underneath. So many movies are about the spark, and this is about the powder. If you could capture that again in a real way, that would be interesting.”

Phoenix, though, admitted that he was already asking Phillips about Joker 2 early on into the production process.

“In the second or third week of shooting, I was like, ‘Todd, can you start working on a sequel? There’s way too much to explore,’” Phoenix said. “It was kind of in jest — but not really.”

The actor also revealed that he thinks the character is so versatile that Joker could basically be inserted into many classic films — and Phoenix even tested that theory on the set.

“I basically said, ‘You could take this character and put him in any movie,’” Phoenix said. “So I did a photo shoot with the on-set photographer and we made posters where I Photoshopped Joker into 10 classic movies: Rosemary’s Baby, Raging Bull, Yentl. If you see it, you’re like, ‘Yeah, I’d watch that movie.’ Yentl with Joker? That would be … amazing!”

While it’s unlikely that we’re going to get Pride & Prejudice & Joker anytime soon, it’s interesting that Phillips is now entertaining the idea of a possible followup film to Joker. Whether or not it will twist the concept into something different or continue exploring the journey of Arthur Fleck.

Joker is now playing in theaters everywhere. Other upcoming DC Comics movies include Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) on February 7, 2020; Wonder Woman 1984 on June 5, 2020; The Batman on June 25, 2021; The Suicide Squad on August 6, 2021; Black Adam on December 22, 2021; and Aquaman 2 on December 16, 2022.