It’s only been a couple of days since we last heard about it, but people cannot stop asking director Todd Phillips about the status of the sequel to Joker. After the success of the first Batman spinoff movie, many fans are hopeful that the filmmaker will retreat with Arthur Fleck actor Joaquin Phoenix to further explore the growth of the Clown Prince of Crime. And while both have made it clear that they are open to the prospect if there is a good idea to follow with, there are no current plans to rush it onto theaters.
Videos by ComicBook.com
Now Phillips was asked by Variety at the Palm Springs International Film Festival over what’s the wait on Joker 2 coming together.
“You did ask me this, you’re the one who got- That’s why I thought we did this already,” Phillips responded. “This time I spent with Joaquin here, driving over with him last night, it was the first time we really hung out for a while and we weren’t talking about that.”
When pressed further, Phillips reiterated what he’s said multiple times before: “Again, we both have the same kind of mandate that I told you last time, so, we’ll see.”
Just earlier in the week, Phillips was speaking at an event held by Deadline when he was asked about the status of a sequel where he provided a more thorough answer.
“When a movie does $1 billion and cost $60 million to make, of course it comes up,” Phillips laughed. “But Joaquin and I haven’t really decided on it. We’re open. I mean, I’d love to work with him on anything, quite frankly. So who knows? But it would have to have a real thematic resonance the way this one did, ultimately being about childhood trauma and the lack of love, and the loss of empathy. All those things are really what made this movie work for us, so we’d have to have something that had an equal thematic resonance.”
Phillips might have his sights set on a completely different character now that he’s told his Joker story; the filmmaker previously revealed to IndieWire that he initially pitched a whole label of DC Comics films focusing on villains.
“When I pitched them Joker, it wasn’t a movie, it was, let’s do a whole label,” Phillips said. “They shut that down quickly and I get it. Who am I to walk in and start a label at a film studio? But they said, let’s do this one.”
Joker is now available on Digital HD.
