Joker 2 is officially in development at DC
The most famous Arkham Asylum resident smashed records with the first instalment. Now there is confirmation that Todd Phillips has closed a deal to co-write the next Joker sequel. So what will Joaquin Phoenix do in Joker 2? Let’s break it down.
Joker was a massive critical and commercial success
Todd Phillips and Joaquin Phoenix delivered a very non-comic book gritty depiction of the clown prince of Gotham. The project first gained headlines when the legendary director and producer Martin Scorcese was attached to the film, but he passed on it and Phillips was signed on. It was clear from the start that this wasn’t a usual comic book entertainer, instead was a dark but accurate representation of Arthur Fleck and how he ends up becoming the Joker.
Watch: Joker 2 concept trailer
The film was a massive box office hit, made on a meagre budget of around 50 million dollars, it brought in around one billion dollars in box office collections. Making it the highest-grossing R-rated movie of all time. So it is only natural that fans might ask for Joker 2.
People loved Phoenix’s accurate representation of Arthur Fleck.
The movie was not only a hit with DC fans but also critically well-received. The film received a record eleven nominations in the Oscars and managed to win the Best Actor and Best Music categories. Co-written by Scott Silver and director Todd Phillips, Joker put a classic Hollywood spin on the villain’s origin story, with clear homages to films like Taxi Driver in particular. The movie was a standalone feature that allowed for drastic differences in its tone, style, as well as an R rating.
What might be the plot for Joker 2?
While nothing is known about what the Joker sequel has in store for us, we can assume that the movie might be a continuation of the first installment. The first movie ended by showing that Arthur Fleck had truly transformed into his Joker alter-ego. If the storylines from comic books are followed, Joker 2 will show Arthur Fleck becoming a very scary mob gangster.
Joker eventually becomes an unhinged maniac killing and torturing people for fun until he met Batman. The end of Joker also showed the iconic scene of young Bruce Wayne’s parents being murdered by Joe Chill in the street. So there is a possibility that connections with Batman might be explored in the sequel as well.
Joker’s connection to the DCEU cannon
Todd Philipps was very keen to keep this solo film outside of the DCEU canon so that it wouldn’t need to be connected to the mainstream canon, which already has another Joker in the form of Jared Leto, who last appeared in Zack Snyder’s Justice League. But to make a sequel, the creators might need to draw up some vague connection to the DCEU.
A wildcard option is connecting it with Matt Reeves and Robert Pattinson’s Batman universe. The new Batman universe will need a joker soon and Joaquin Phoenix could fill that gap, although it looks very unlikely. Only time will tell which continuity Joker 2 will follow, or choose to remain completely out of all cannons.
