UPDATED 11/20/19 12:13 p.m. ET:Deadline reports that Todd Phillips and his co-writer, Scott Silver, have not made a deal for a Joker sequel and there have been no negotiations.
Furthermore, the outlet refutes earlier reports that Phillips met with Warner Bros. to discuss potential origin stories for other DC characters. According to Deadline's sources, no such meeting occurred, and Phillips "hasn't even considered overseeing other DC character films."
See original story below.
While the story of this year's Joker could have easily stood as a one-time exploration of a troubled character portrayed with excellency by Joaquin Phoenix, we now have word that a sequel is indeed imminent.
Wednesday, the Hollywood Reporterinformed the planet that director Todd Phillips "is in talks" to helm a second Joker film. Additionally, Warner Bros. is said to have sequel options all set up for Phoenix, meaning he's likely to return.
The full THR report on Joker—which is now the fourth DC entry to cross the billion-dollar mark at the box office—adds that Phillips also proposed the larger idea of putting together a "portfolio" of DC character origin story films. That idea is said to have been "balked" at, though the related meeting did result in Phillips securing the rights to "at least one" additional DC story aside from the Joker sequel.
A Los Angeles Timesprofile from earlier this month touched on Phoenix and Phillips mid-production talks of possibly exploring the character further, though—at the time—those talks weren't necessarily spoken from a place of firm planning.
"In the second or third week of shooting, I was like, 'Todd, can you start working on a sequel? There's way too much to explore,'" Phoenix recalled. "It was kind of in jest—but not really."
Joker hit theaters nationwide on Oct. 4 following a Golden Lion win at the Venice Film Festival and ultimately went on to bag more than $96 million on its opening weekend. As of Monday's domestic box office tally, the film has stacked up nearly $323 million stateside for a global total of more than $1 billion.
Banking on Joker's box office success has proven to be a smart decision for Phillips, who reportedly declined an upfront salary, in favor of receiving 10 to 13 percent off the bank-end. Since the film has already eclipsed the $1 billion mark, Phillips could be in line for, at least, a reported $100 million.
