Although Todd Phillips was not originally planning to make a sequel to his 2019 hit film Joker, the director is once again casting doubt that he will create another movie based on the DC Comics villain after the release of Joker: Folie à Deux.
Speaking with Variety, Phillips revealed that while he returned to direct and co-write a screenplay for a Joker sequel, the director is ready to move on from the character and does not anticipate making a third movie. "It was fun to play in this sort of sandbox for two movies," Philips told Variety. "[B]ut I think we've said what we wanted to say in this world."
Ahead of the first film's release in 2019, Joker was originally intended to be a standalone film. Phillips told Empire Magazine in 2019 that he pitched Joker to WB executives, suggesting the studio "begin a new division called DC Black."
Though Phillips would go back and forth on whether or not a follow-up would be made, as he clarified in August 2019 that he was interested in making a sequel, it would depend on the film's box office performance and whether or not actor Joaquin Phoenix, who plays the titular character, would be interested in reprising his role. However, just a month later, he would again state the film was not set up for a sequel, before a sequel was officially confirmed in 2022.
Joker: Folie à Deux is set two years after the first film's events, following Phoenix's character Arthur Fleck / Joker, who is now a patient at Arkham State Hospital. The plot will focus on Fleck and his relationship with musical therapist Harleen "Leen" Quinzel / Harley Quinn, played by Lady Gaga. Other tidbits we know about the film include the movie not being a full musical, but Phillips admits that music plays an "essential element" in the project. Additionally, Phillips revealed that Folie à Deux does not set up Arthur Fleck to become the clown prince of crime.
Joker: Folie à Deux will be released in theaters on October 4, 2024.
Taylor is a Reporter at IGN. You can follow her on Twitter @TayNixster.
