Joaquin Phoenix has read the script for a sequel to his billion-dollar Joker movie, with the follow-up tentatively titled “Joker: Folie à Deux.”
As a grounded take on comic book material, Joker hit screens in 2019, and was directed by Todd Phillip, from a script he wrote with Scott Silver.
Joaquin Phoenix played the title character, who starts the film as an aspiring stand-up comic, and ends it as the “clown prince of crime,” the Joker.
The downbeat origin story had a modest budget for a superhero movie – around $60 million – but quickly became a box office sensation, grossing more than $1 billion worldwide.
What’s happening with the Joker sequel?
Talk inevitably turned to a sequel, with studio Warner Bros undoubtedly keen to cash-in on the success of the first. But Phillips has always claimed that Joker was a standalone story.
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Speaking at a press event in September 2019 – as reported by IGN – Phillips said “We have no plans for a sequel… the movie’s not set up to [have] a sequel. We always pitched it as one movie, and that’s it.”
Phillips seems to have changed his tune since then however, as a post on Instagram suggests that a sequel is happening.
What is the Joker sequel called?
Earlier today, Phillips posted two pictures on Instagram. The first was the front page of a script entitled “Joker: Folie à Deux.” Dated May 18, 2022, the screenplay is once again written by the director, along with Scott Silver.
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The second photo features the Joker himself – Joaquin Phoenix – reading the script while smoking a cigarette.
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Warner Bros is yet to make a statement on the subject, so we don’t yet know if this is a joke, or part of the studio’s plans, or something that Phillips and Phoenix have sprung on them. But the evidence suggests that Joker 2 is happening.
What does Folie à Deux mean?
Translated from the French, “Folie à Deux,” which literally means “shared madness” or shared delusional disorder, and Variety believes the title might have a couple of connotations:
“That could refer to how Arthur’s villainy is widely embraced by Gotham City in the first film, but it could also suggest that Phillips’ sequel will bring his own interpretation of Joker’s main (and, really, only) partner in life, crime and madness, Harley Quinn.”
We’ll have more news on the Joker sequel, as and when it breaks.
