The Clown Prince of Crime's sequel could be entering development next year. Ever since the immense success of Todd Phillips' Joker in 2019, there have been rumors of the supervillain origin story getting its own sequel. These rumors continue to persist, and the latest word out of the rumor mill is that the sequel has just taken a big step forward with a tentative start date in place.
According to Heroic Hollywood, a Warner Bros. "insider" has revealed that the studio has just received the first draft of the Joker 2 screenplay. Additionally, there are plans to start shooting sometime in 2023. Without any official confirmation, it's best to take these rumors with a grain of salt at this time. There isn't any information about what the script might entail, though we can presume it would most likely bring back Joaquin Phoenix as Arthur Fleck.
Joker was directed by Todd Phillips and written by Phillips and Scott Silver. It serves as an origin story for the Joker and how a failed clown and comedian ends up becoming the most dastardly villain in Gotham City. The open-ended sequel has left fans debating over whether a sequel is truly needed, but because of the incredible financial success of the film, which includes more than a billion dollars hauled in at the box office, Warner Bros. has been working hard to get Phillips and Phoenix back on board for a follow-up film.
The film was originally pitched and developed as a one-off, and the idea was that it could lead to other DC characters getting their own solo films. Over the past couple years, there have been reports of a Joker sequel entering development at Warner Bros. A significant update came last year when it was reported that Phillips had signed on to write the script for the sequel, but that wasn't officially confirmed by the studio or Phillips.
Joaquin Phoenix Has Teased a Potential Return to Joker
In October, Joaquin Phoenix spoke about the possibility of Joker 2 with The Playlist. The actor said he was still open to returning to that role, though he couldn't clarify one way or the other if the sequel was officially happening. He also teased that there are plenty of new directions that they could potentially take this character.
"I dunno... I mean, I dunno. From when we were shooting, we started to -you know, uhh, this is an interesting guy. There are some things we could do with this guy and could [explore] further. But as to whether we actually will? I don't know," Phoenix said.
There are indeed many ways a potential sequel could go, but in any case, it will be a big challenge for the filmmakers to capture lightning in a bottle for a second time. The original film is widely acclaimed and even earned Phoenix a Best Actor Oscar for his performance. Living up to how revered the original is will always be challenging for a sequel to any hit film, but with Phillips and Phoenix involved, the right ingredients would be there for it to work.