Joaquin Phoenix’s Joker 2 Has A Start Date
Now, there is finally a new update with substantial details on where Todd Phillips, Joaquin Phoenix, and the studio are at on Joker 2.
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In November of 2019, sources for The Hollywood Reporter claimed that Joker 2 was in the works. Since then, updates on the sequel project have been scarce, with the studio still not officially announcing much of anything at all. Joaquin Phoenix has remained tight-lipped about the possibility of one happening, though he’s been clear that he feels there is a lot of creative potential for his character to move forward. Now, sources for Heroic Hollywood have offered a new update with substantial details on where Todd Phillips, Joaquin Phoenix, and the studio are at on Joker 2.
According to the outlet, Warner Bros has the script for the sequel in their hands. Heroic Hollywood’s sources hear that the current plan is to begin filming the movie in 2023. At this point, that’s all they’ve learned. Plot details for Joker 2 aren’t in hand, and they haven’t learned of a scheduled release date. However, audiences can estimate that if production goes well in 2023, Joaquin Phoenix could be seen as Arthur Fleck as soon as 2025. That puts the sequel’s release a solid six years after the first DC movie was released in 2019. However, with how beloved and singular that movie was, it stands to reason that fans are happy to wait for the right movie to be made.
Joker famously made over a billion dollars at the box office. That kind of number all but guaranteed that Joker 2 would soon be announced, but filmmaker Todd Phillips and Joaquin Phoenix have seemed very protective of the movie. When either of them speaks of a potential sequel, they talk about guarding the creative process behind the film, something that seems important to both of them.
After The Hollywood Reporter claimed that a sequel was happening in their November 2019 report, the internet went into a tailspin. The Hollywood Reporter is considered a very reputable outlet for this kind of news. However, Deadline and Variety are also considered to be trustworthy, and both claimed that their sources dispute the report. Todd Phillips then came out and said that their report was absolutely not true. In late 2019, he had the following to say about a potential Joker 2.
Here’s the real truth about a sequel. While Joaquin and I have talked about it, and while touring the world with Warner Bros executives — going to Toronto, and Venice, and other places — of course, we’re sitting at dinner and they’re saying, ‘So, have you thought about…?’ But, talking about contracts, there’s not a contract for us to even write a sequel, we’ve never approached Joaquin to be in a sequel. Will that happen? Again, I just think the article was anticipatory at best.
Todd Phillips
So while the filmmaker disputed that a meeting had happened, contracts were signed, and Joker 2 was in the works as of late 2019, he didn’t deny that a sequel with Joaquin Phoenix could happen or will. Hopefully, the sources for Heroic Hollywood are correct, and the movie is quietly moving forward to a 2023 filming date. With so much hype around this movie, it makes sense that early reports would be plentiful, but that the studio would do their best to keep as much quiet as possible.
While Heroic Hollywood hasn’t heard anything about the plot for Joker 2, earlier reports have come in from sources for Geekosity Mag, an outlet that has proven trustworthy in the past. Their sources heard that the sequel will follow the storyline is inspired by the comic miniseries Batman: Three Jokers. They heard that the script wasn’t going to necessarily follow that plotline exactly, but it was one of their main inspirations for Joker 2.
The comic story saw three different Jokers ruining Batman’s day, with the three characters referred to as The Clown, The Prince, and The Comedian. Interestingly, this sounds like a great way to work in Willem Dafoe’s public pitch, where he’s said that he’d love to play another version of Joker opposite Joaquin Phoenix in Joker 2. While that’s a pipe dream, it would be fun if filmmaker Todd Phillips is listening to that one. For now, we’ll keep our fingers crossed that more announcements on a sequel are revealed soon.
