Joker 3: Director Todd Phillips Addresses Sequel

Joker: Folie A Deux Director Todd Phillips has addressed the possibility of a Joker 3. Warner Bros. is opening the curtains on the Joker sequel this fall and Variety asked the filmmaker about a final curtain call for Joaquin Phoenix’s version of the Batman villain. It turns out, this is the last show we’ll see Arhtur Fleck perform for now. Phillips said, “It was fun to play in this sort of sandbox for two movies, but I think we’ve said what we wanted to say in this world.” So anyone counting on a Joker 3 is probably going to be waiting for a long time. Never say never, because Joker: Folie A Deux exists after Phillips seemed lukewarm at best on delivering another installment of this franchise.

Still, that seems pretty concrete from the filmmaker behind the Oscar winning entry and upcoming sequel. If he ends up working with Joaquin Phoenix again, it would probably be a comedy of some kind. After all, the fabled origin story for this project was that Philips wanted to work with the venerated actor on some sort of black comedy and couldn’t secure the funding. Now that they’ve proved that chemistry, it could happen in earnest.

“I’d love to keep working with Joaquin, but on a comedy, because he can be so loose and funny,” Phillips says. “And I think people really want comedies right now. The trailer for ‘Joker 2‘ sort of sums things up when it says, ‘What the world needs now is love.’ But I would go farther: We could use a good laugh too.”

Joker 2 Takes Things To The Stage

Joker: Folie A Deux is still very grounded compared to some other comic book movies that have populated the multiplex over the last couple of years. Joaquin Phoenix had to prepare for singing in front of millions of folks. Talking to Empire Magazine, the Joker star talked about getting singing advice from Lady Gaga and how Arthur Fleck’s singing prowess reflects that grounded tone from the first movie. It sounds like we’re in for a real barn burner.

Phoenix said, “Gaga was always very encouraging of just, ‘Go with what you feel, it’s fine’. For somebody who’s not a performer in that way, it can be… uncomfortable to do that, but also very exciting”.

“It was important to protect that with poor phrasing and occasional bum notes,” he continued. “Arthur grew up hearing his mother play these songs on the radio. He’s not a singer, and he shouldn’t sound like a professional singer. He should sound like somebody that’s taking a shower and just bursts out into song.

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