Many fans of the 2019 Joker film starring Joaquin Phoenix would undoubtedly love to see a sequel be made for the box office and critical smash hit. However, if a new interview from its star is any indication, that possibility is far from certain.
According to The Direct, Phoenix recently spoke in an interview on the matter, saying that he’s pretty much in the dark as to whether or not a sequel will get greenlit by Warner Bros.
“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 in an interview with The Playlist.
Though WB may be pouring in mountains of cash into its DC Extended Universe, Joker is one example of a DC property that exists wholly independent of that franchise and yet garnered a tremendous amount of success for the studio, raking in more than a billion in box office returns — the third highest-grossing DC film ever released — and garnering 11 Academy Award nominations. Phoenix also won the Oscar Best Actor and the film’s composer, Hildur Guðnadóttir, won for best original score.
It’s unclear if a sequel will ever actually happen, though the story does leave it open-ended enough that it would be logical to expand on the world. The end of the film sees the crime prince of clown escaping and leaving a bloody trail from a mental asylum.
Rumor has it that director Todd Phillips has already agreed to produce, write and direct a sequel to Joker, despite the lack of an official announcement from WB.