A sequel to the award-winning film Joker has been confirmed, with Joaquin Phoenix expected to return for a second outing as the iconic villain.
Director Todd Phillips shared the news on Instagram, teasing fans with a picture of the front page of a script with the title “Joker: Folie à Deux” written across it, named after the French term for two people sharing a delusion or mental illness. The front page also revealed that the film will be co-written by Scott Silver, who wrote Joker along with Phillips.
The director delighted his followers with a second photo showing Joaquin Phoenix, who starred as the Joker in the 2019 film, engrossed in reading the script. The 47-year-old actor bagged an Oscar for Best Actor following his portrayal of the troubled Arthur Fleck.
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The first film, based on characters from the DC comics, follows Fleck as he inspires a violent revolution in Gotham City after failed attempts to succeed as a party clown and stand-up comedian. The plot of the sequel is currently being kept tightly under wraps, but it’s expected to follow on from the origin story told in Joker which culminates in Fleck becoming the famous clown-faced villain.
The film became the top R-rated movie of all time at the global box office, topping a staggering $1 billion as one of the last big blockbusters to hit cinemas before the Covid-19 pandemic forced the industry to a halt. Despite the film’s success it proved to be divisive among audiences, with some criticising its depiction of gun violence and mental illness.
Opinions have already been similarly split on the sequel - while some shared their excitement, others expressed their opinion that a second outing for Phoenix’s Joker was unnecessary. “Joker really didn’t need a sequel,” said one person on Twitter. “Honestly it was fine the way it was being a standalone. Not every huge hit needs a sequel.”
Some shared their concern that a sequel wouldn’t live up to its predecessor, with another fan writing: “The first one was a masterpiece, should leave it as it is.”
"Where would the sequel plotline even go?" a third Twitter user asked. "The entire point of the movie was to be an epic retelling [of] the origin with a soft ending that set up the influence joker had on Gotham."
In any case, fans may have to wait a while before they can catch the sequel in cinemas. The script for the first film was written in 2017 before the film premiered in August 2019, so the release for the second film is likely a couple of years away yet.
Are you looking forward to the Joker sequel? Let us know in the comments below.
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