In the broader collection of DC movies, there is one film that stands out from all the others: Joker. The reason why it stands out is not because of its award-winning quality, as Christopher Nolan had already crossed that bridge with his excellent Dark Knight trilogy, or because of its R-rated story, but because it wasn’t really a comic book movie. Joker was an exploration of the effects of mental illness and a toxic society and how it can affect a person, potentially turning them into a criminal. The fact that it included references to the comic book character at all was something added after the fact and just helped to give it some funding and turn it into a massive financial success.
It’s also for this reason, that it’s the kind of comic book movie that probably shouldn’t get a sequel. As an arthouse film that delves deep into the psyche of its character, it was incredibly powerful and made its point. With it being so loosely based on the world of comic books, it doesn’t really need to delve deeper into the story of the emergence of Bruce Wayne as Batman or for us to get even deeper into the antics of one of the most popular villains of all time in the Joker.
Yet, when a movie is this successful, studios will want their sequel anyway, and according to a new report from The Hollywood Reporter, director Todd Philips, who also co-wrote the script for the first movie with Scott Silver, is officially working on a sequel. There are no details as to where the sequel will take Arthur Fleck next after the explosive finale of the first film, although rumours point towards the emergence of multiple Jokers being floated around.
Joker was a huge box office success when it arrived in 2019, grossing over $1 billion during its run. Phillips has been quick to shut down rumours of a sequel since then, but who knows? He might just have the last laugh after all.
Last Updated: May 31, 2021
