Featured Image Credit: Warner Bros.
Topics: Joaquin Phoenix, Joker, DC Comics, Film and TV
Daisy Phillipson
Topics: Joaquin Phoenix, Joker, DC Comics, Film and TV
It's time to put on a happy face, as Joaquin Phoenix is set to reprise his role as the Joker for the highly anticipated DC sequel.
The actor stunned audiences with his performance as the Gotham villain upon the film's release in 2019, inhabiting every fibre of Arthur Fleck’s eerie, tortured being.
What's more, Joker was the first R-rated film to break the billion-dollar mark, so it's no surprise director Todd Phillips is keen to continue the story in a second flick.
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Taking to Twitter, the filmmaker shared an update on the film's development including the working title – Joker: Folie à Deux.
Folie à Deux means 'the shared madness of two', leading many to believe the Joker might find himself a companion in the follow-up.
Now this could very well be his partner in crime Harley Quinn, although it's unlikely we'll be seeing Margot Robbie's iteration of the character as she exists in a different universe to Phoenix's supervillain and was already paired with Jared Leto's version in Suicide Squad.
Another idea could be related to none other than Willem Dafoe, who earlier this year shared an incredible idea for a Joker imposter.
Speaking to GQ, he said: "There is something interesting about, like, if there was a Joker imposter. So it would be possible to have not duelling Jokers but someone that says to be the Joker that isn’t the Joker.
"And that kind of opens up the possibility of an interesting story, particularly if you had Joaquin Phoenix’s Joker, and then you had someone who was either imitating or riffing off what he did. I fantasised about that. But other than that I am not talking to anybody [about it], you’re the first one."
Dafoe's flair for the unhinged would make him an ideal candidate to portray the imposter or some other form of the character, and fans are desperate to see it happen.
"If Willem Dafoe isn't in Joker 2 then i don't want it," wrote one, while another said, "If they cast Willem Dafoe somehow then the Joker 2 will become everyone's most anticipated movie."
A third said: "Please can this be the Joker copycat thing Willem Dafoe suggested and not them dragging Harley back into dependance on this man."
Whatever the case may be, all fans can do is speculate for now, as Phillips and the team will be keeping the details under wraps as they develop the sequel.
That being said, he did reveal that Phoenix will be returning by sharing a picture of the 47-year-old actor reading the script.
It's safe to say the fans are excited by the news, with one writing on Twitter: "I'm thinking Joker is about to spread some more anarchy to the villains of DC or Batman!"
"News of the #Joker sequel has got me excited to see what #ToddPhillips and #JoaquinPhoenix have in store," said another.
A third added: "I experienced real art through cinema in October 2019 with Joker. I’m sooo ready for the sequel and saying I’m excited is an understatement."
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