- Is a "Joker" sequel in the works?
Maybe, if Joaquin Phoenix gets his way.
It is not a joke to say that "Joker"
is the most successful rated-R film of all time,
and with the film inching closer and closer
to the coveted one-billion-dollar mark,
ideas are swirling on how to keep this cash train rolling.
While the movie itself was set to be a standalone film
not tied into the greater DC film universe canon,
fans were obviously very excited
to visit this version of Gotham City,
and you can probably bet Warner Brothers
is itching to get director Todd Phillips
and star Joaquin Phoenix on the phone
and see if they might be interested in the sequel.
Luckily, they may not need to because it's not just fans.
It seems that Joaquin himself may want to see
even more of Arthur Fleck on the big screen, kinda.
In an interview with the "LA Times",
Phoenix said, "Long before the release
"or before we had any idea if it would be successful,
"we talked about sequels.
"In the second or third week of shooting,
"I was like Todd, can you start working on a sequel?
"There's way too much to explore.
"It was kind of in jest but not really."
Even if he was joking not joking,
Phoenix did admit that he played out his desire for sequels
during the production of the film.
It's no secret that "Joker" owes much of its look and feel
to iconic Martin Scorsese films of the 70s and 80s.
It wears "The King of Comedy" and "Taxi Driver"
on its sleeve like a badge of honor,
and in regards to this and Joker as a character,
Phoenix revealed, "I basically said
"you could take this character and put him in any movie.
"So I did a photo shoot with the on-set photographer,
"and we made posters where I Photoshopped Joker
"into 10 classic movies:
""Rosemary's Baby", "Raging Bull", "Yentl".
"If you see it, you're like yeah, I'd watch that movie.
"Yentl with Joker?
"That would be amazing."
He even showed some of these posters
to director Todd Phillips who said,
"I definitely remember the "Yentl" one.
"Another one was "Forest Gump".
"The Hangover was even one of them."
Even we have to admit if Phillips were to return
to his "Hangover" trilogy with a new one starring The Joker,
it would certainly be an interesting experiment.
- You can say that again, pal.
(audience laughing loudly)
- While Phillips doesn't close the door on a sequel,
he admits he isn't going to do one without reason.
"We haven't talked about it a ton.
"We've only talked about the fact that if we ever did one,
"and I'm not saying we are because right now we're not,
"it couldn't just be this wild and crazy movie
"about the Clown Prince of Crime.
"That just doesn't interest us.
"It would have to have some thematic resonance
"in a similar way that this does."
Now even though Joaquin Phoenix seems to be
the person who wants the sequel the most,
he also said that what drew him
to the role in the first place
was the fact that he wouldn't have to paint his face again
after the movie was done.
He told the "LA Times",
"Part of the whole attraction to me
"of "Joker" was there was no expectation.
"I didn't sign a deal to do more movies.
"It was a one-off."
He went on to say, "I wouldn't just do a sequel
"just because the first movie is successful.
"That's ridiculous."
So could this all happen?
Well it is worth noting that
the most unreliable narrator in all of this
isn't the actual Joker but Joaquin Phoenix himself.
He's definitely done his share
of trolling throughout the years
as recently seen in the Jimmy Kimmel bit
where he pretended to have an on-set freakout
during the production of "Joker" and the footage leaked.
Plus, you know the whole bull (beep)
"I'm Still Here" documentary where he became a rapper.
But if we had to wager,
it does appear that Phoenix is very passionate
about the role of The Joker, a.k.a Arthur Fleck,
and while he would want to do a sequel,
he and director Todd Phillips
will only undertake one if there is the right reason for it
and not the one billion other reasons.
But what do you folks think?
Do you think we could get a sequel to "Joker"?
Or should we just get more standalone comic book movies?
And which classic film would you want
to see the Joker star in?
"Back to the Future", "The 40-Year-Old Virgin",
"The Dark Knight"?
- No, no, no.
- Let's discuss.
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(mellow music)