When talks of the Joker II surfaced the internet, fans expected it, but they were not expecting reports of a sequel being in works immediately. Honestly, the director, Todd Phillips, didn’t either, which is why he cleared up the confusion.
The conversation sparked from The Hollywood Reporter article that expressed Phillips had a meeting with Warner Brothers to begin filming and hold the rights to specific DC stories.
Unfortunately for Joker fans, that is not the case, and there is not a sequel in the works, or happening as of now. Phillips explained to Indiewire in an interview that none of that happened and it’s all false.
“Well, a movie doesn’t make a billion dollars, and they don’t talk about a sequel,” Phillips told Indiewire. “Joaquin and I have publicly said we’ve been talking about a sequel since week two of shooting because it’s a fun thing to talk about. But the article was referring to other things than that that were just frankly untrue. I don’t know how it gets started if it’s some assistant trying to gain street cred with a writer.”
He also mentioned the conversations that he and the leading star of the Joker, Joaquin Phoenix, have had about the movie, but it was just that.
“Here’s the real truth about a sequel,” Phillips explained. “While Joaquin and I have talked about it, and while touring the world with Warner Bros executives — going to Toronto, and Venice, and other places — of course, we’re sitting at dinner, and they’re saying, ‘So, have you thought about…?’ But, talking about contracts, there’s not a contract for us to even write a sequel, we’ve never approached Joaquin to be in a sequel. Will that happen? Again, I just think the article was anticipatory at best.”
