Joaquin Phoenix teases Joker sequel with Todd Phillips
The huge popularity of the Joker’s grisly origin story could see Phoenix return for round two
Joaquin Phoenix has hinted that the possibilities are “endless” when considering a potential sequel to Joker.
The 44-year-old, who stunned critics with his performance as Batman’s unhinged nemesis, seemed open to returning for a follow-up when discussing his role in a recent interview.
“You know, I wouldn’t have thought about this as my dream role. But now, honestly, I can’t stop thinking about it,” Phoenix said on American talk show Popcorn with Peter Travers.
“I talked to Todd [Phillips, the director] a lot about what else we might be able to do, in general, just to work together, but also specifically, if there’s something else we can do with Joker that might be interesting.
“So, it ended up being a dream role. It’s nothing that I really wanted to do prior to working on this movie.”
He continued: “I don’t know that there is [more to do].
“Me and Todd would still be shooting now if we could, right? Because it seemed endless, the possibilities of where we can go with the character.”
Phoenix’s stance is markedly different to director Phillips, who stressed that Joker was always intended to be a standalone movie.
“We have no plan for a sequel,” he told GameSpot.
“We made this movie, I pitched it to Warner Bros. as one movie, it exists in its own world, that’s it. It’s not about worldbuilding, it’s not about other versions, it’s like, here’s our version of the origin story, that’s it.”
However, with Joker grossing a total $234 million worldwide in its opening weekend alone, and with a slew of five-star review from critics, we may very well be seeing more Joker in the future.