In a new feature article in VARIETY, the man behind JOKER: FOLIE A DEUX, Todd Phillips, says there probably won’t be a JOKER 3. “It was fun to play in this sort of sandbox for two movies,” said Phillips, “but I think we’ve said what we wanted to say in this world.
While he doesn’t explicitly say no, he pretty much did. Other highlights from the article include…
- Phillips and Joaquin Phoenix considered doing a Broadway musical as a follow-up to JOKER.
- The sequel is set 2 years after the events of the original film.
- Phillips never intended for this version of The Joker to mirror his comic book counterpart: “We didn’t want to have him as the clown prince of crime or running a syndicate of criminals.”
- Phillips also has adapted Harley Quinn (Lady Gaga) to fit the world of JOKER: “The high voice, that accent, the gum-chewing and all that sort of sassy stuff that’s in the comics, we stripped that away. We wanted her to fit into this world of Gotham that we created from the first movie.”
JOKER was one of the best things to happen in the comic book genre here recently, and I suspect the sequel will follow suit. I mean, a musical? Bring it on! I don’t know if I’ll ultimately like JOKER: FOLIE a DEUX (I’ve yet to see it, obviously), but it’s exactly the sort of thing (along with Matt Reeves’ THE BATMAN SAGA) the genre needs…as opposed to the old and tired shared universe where there’s an over-arching story and everything connects song and dance. Give me new and inventive over cookie-cutter and formulaic anytime.
For the full article/interview, CLICK HERE or any links provided. – Bill “Jett” Ramey