Joker director Todd Phillips has discussed what he’d want to explore in a potential sequel.
The film recently became the most profitable comic book movie ever, following its previous accolade of highest-grossing R-rated movie of all time.
Phillips stated even before the new film was released that a sequel could be on the cards, and he’s now been discussing where a follow-up movie could go narrative-wise, telling The Los Angeles Times that a sequel would “have to have some thematic resonance”.
“It couldn’t just be this wild and crazy movie about the ‘Clown Prince of Crime,'” Phillips said. “It would have to have some thematic resonance in a similar way that [‘Joker’] does.
He continued: “I think that’s ultimately why the movie connected, it’s what’s going on underneath. So many movies are about the spark, and this is about the powder. If you could capture that again in a real way, that would be interesting.”
Joaquin Phoenix has also spoken about a Joker sequel, telling The Envelope “I wouldn’t just do a sequel just because the first movie is successful,” but that a sequel has been a talking point for a good while.
“Long before the release or before we had any idea if it would be successful, we talked about sequels,” Phoenix continued.
Phillips has also said that he was so impressed with Phoenix’s performance in Joker that he’d be more likely to make another film.
“One thing I will tell you: I would do anything with [Phoenix], any day of the week,” the director explained to Total Film. “There’s nobody like him.”
In NME‘s five-star ‘Joker’ review, Greg Wetherall described the film as an “instant classic”, declaring that “the DC Extended Universe have made a picture destined to challenge Marvel’s dominance.”