A New Joker Sequel Is Officially on the Way
Put on a happy face, because the sequel to Joker is officially on the way. Todd Phillips confirmed the exciting news on Instagram.
After the success of Todd Phillips’ 2019 adaptation of Joker, the sequel is finally secured after three long years. The filmmaker uploaded the script with the film’s title, Joker: Folie à Deux, written by Todd Phillips and Scott Silver.
The second image Phillips shared has also garnered attention. The photo shows Joaquin Phoenix, who won his first Oscar for embodying Arthur Fleck and his alter ego, Joker, reading the script for the sequel. The actor was the well-deserved winner of Best Actor at the 92nd Oscars, beating out Antonio Banderas (Pain and Glory), Adam Driver (Marriage Story), Leonardo DiCaprio (Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood), and Jonathan Pryce (The Two Popes).
Joker was the highest-grossing R-rated movie of all time with $1.07 billion worldwide. The film scored a whopping 11 Oscar nominations, including Best Picture. Hildur Guðnadóttir won her second Oscar for Best Original Score.
Despite the film’s high rate of success, Joker was also met with controversy. Phillips admits that he was “not prepared” for such backlash. He states, “I was taken aback by people talking about the level of violence in the movie as if it was irresponsible when to Joaquin [Phoenix] and me, it had felt like the most responsible portrayal of violence I’d seen in a long time in movies.”
Joaquin’s portrayal of the Joker examines his life as a mentally unstable man who is relentlessly bullied and isolated from society. Phillips’ film highlights these painful realities, expressing, “Do we want to pretend that we’re not failing as a human experiment? Do we want to pretend that these people don’t exist? What is the harm in shining a light on that? Isn’t that a good thing?”
We cannot wait to see what Todd Phillips and Joaquin Phoenix will create with this sequel. You can stream Joker on HBO Max.
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