copyright"Joker 2": Is there a sequel to Batman now?
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"Joker," tells the origin story of the famous DC rogue completely without Batman. His alter ego Bruce Wayne has a small appearance in the film, but the Dark Knight lacks any trace. Could it be a confrontation in a sequel?
The following text contains spoilers for the end of "Joker"!
When hell breaks loose in the final of "Joker" in Gotham City, the audience gets to see a familiar scene in the midst of all the chaos: Thomas (Brett Cullen) and Martha (Carrie Louise Petrello) Wayne come with their son Bruce ( Dante Pereira-Olson) from a movie show and are shot in the alley behind the theater by a delinquent in cold blood. Little Bruce watches the murder of his parents and suffers a serious trauma.
From the comics we know what follows on this act: The boy eventually decides to devote his life entirely to combating crime and adapts the alias Batman, in the shelter of darkness and hidden behind a mask to hunt for the scum of the city.
We could at least theoretically see this development in a "Joker 2" should Warner Bros. decide to produce a sequel. A sequel is becoming more and more likely thanks to the great success of the movie.
COMES "JOKER 2"?
Before the release of the film, it looked as if "Joker" would become a unique experiment without sequels and spin-offs and stand independent of a film universe, even the filmmakers no longer rule out a sequel categorically.
Even lead actor Joaquin Phoenix, who famously rejected the role of Doctor Strange in Marvel's MCU because he does not want to commit to several films, is generally willing to slip into the joker's oversized clown shoes yet again. The actor revealed in an interview with film critic Peter Travers in his show Popcorn.
Director Todd Phillips indicated that he had seen "Joker" as a stand-alone movie right from the start, and on the set just for fun, with Joaquin Phoenix, how the story about Arthur Fleck could go on. However, he did not generally reject a sequel but only denied that he already had an idea in the hindquarters. If enough people saw the movie and Warner approached him and Joaquin Phoenix, he was quite inclined to think about the possibility of a second part.
COULD WE SEE BATMAN IN "JOKER 2"?
If there is the "Joker" Sequel, one would think that this would most likely also have a reunion with Bruce Wayne would result, after all, the beginning of his transformation in Batman was already teased at the end of the film. Since the 44-year-old Joaquin Phoenix in "Joker" plays a beginning 30-year-old, nothing would stand in the way of a leap in time, after the Bruce Wayne already grazes the streets of Gotham as a Dark Knight (even if the Joker then much older than his archenemy would).
In an interview with L.A. Times Phillips gave these assumptions, however, a more than clear rejection. If he and Joaquin Phoenix meet again for a sequel, at least there would be no adult Bruce Wayne appearing: "We would never do that. No no. We would just want to see where [Arthur] is developing. "
"Joker" has been playing in German cinemas since October 2, 2019.