Joker Director Thought Warner Bros. Was Going To Cancel The Film

By all accounts, Joker‘s success has taken everyone by storm. And we do mean everyone.

As a standalone, R-rated comic book movie that features the iconic DC villain front and center, it’s a nihilistic tale the likes of which we’ve never seen before. But somehow, someway, Warner Bros. and director Todd Phillips defied all expectations and took a $75 million spinoff that was beyond dark and violent – not to mention extremely bleak, too – and turned it into a billion-dollar behemoth that has been praised by all.

But there was a time when Phillips thought his film would never see the inside of a movie theater. Speaking on the Rumble With Michael Moore podcast recently, the director admitted that at one point, he felt like the studio might just cut their losses rather than deal with all the controversy that Joker was generating before its release.

“I thought we might have been over on Joker, just where the narrative on Joker started heading in the media,” Phillips said. “I started thinking ‘Jesus, is this going to be one of those things where Warners — because it’s owned by AT&T and WarnerMedia, it’s a much bigger thing than Joker will ever be — do they just go ‘This isn’t worth the headache?’ There was a minute there.”

Of course, Phillips’ worries were for nothing and Joker went on to see the inside of many, many theaters, resulting in a spectacular run at the box office, as we mentioned above. And now, with awards season heating up, it’s looking like the film will be snagging a few big honors, too. Perhaps even an Oscar for leading man Joaquin Phoenix.

As such, it’s no wonder we’re hearing that Warner Bros. are keen to reunite the director with his star for a sequel. It’s now officially in the works – despite reports to the contrary – but how exactly the team plan to continue the dark, nihilistic tale of Arthur Fleck in Joker 2 remains to be seen.

Tell us, though, what are you hoping to see from a sequel? And do you think Phoenix stands a chance at Oscar glory? As ever, sound off down below with your thoughts.