Joaquin Phoenix Close to Massive Deal to Return for Joker 2

Joaquin Phoenix’s payday for Joker 2 is no laughing matter. The actor, who won his first Academy Award for his role as failed comedian turned criminal clown Arthur Fleck in 2019’s Joker, is reportedly nearing a “rich” deal to return for the sequel from director Todd Phillips. On Tuesday, Phillips shared an Instagram photo of Phoenix reading the script, titled Joker: Folie à Deux, which Phillips wrote with Scott Silver. According to Deadline, Phoenix read the Joker 2 script “a while ago, and it has come down to making a rich deal for him to star in the genre-jumping sequel.”

The first Joker grossed $1.07 billion worldwide, making the Batman villain origin story the highest-grossing R-rated movie of all time and the second-best box office for DC behind only 2018’s Aquaman. Produced for a reported $70 million with financial partners Bron Studios and Village Roadshow, each contributing 25% of the budget, Joker earned a net profit of $437 million, according to a 2020 analysis by Deadline. 

For Phillips, backend profit participation saw The Hangover filmmaker walk away with upwards of $70 million, according to the report. Phoenix reportedly took a more standard deal with upfront pay and a single percent of profits after cash breakeven, Deadline reported at the time. 

In December, Phoenix sounded unsure about returning for a follow-up about Gotham City anarchist Arthur Fleck, telling The Playlist, “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.”

Earlier rumors dating back to 2020 claimed Warner Bros., now Warner Bros. Discovery, offered Phoenix $50 million to star in a Joker 2 and Joker 3. 

Joker scored a total of 11 Oscar nominations, including a rare comic book nod for Best Picture, winning two: one for Phoenix for Best Actor and one for composer Hildur Guðnadóttir’s score. Robert De Niro, Zazie Beetz, Frances Conroy, and Brett Cullen also starred, with Dante Pereira-Olson playing a young Bruce Wayne. 

The original Joker is available to stream on HBO Max.