JOKER 2. Joker was a huge critical and popular success, grossing over $1 billion at the worldwide box office. What generate a sequel, still with Joaquin Phoenix?
[Mis à jour le 13 mars 2022 à 20h45] In 2019, Joker was a real critical and popular success. Winning Joaquin Phoenix the Best Actor Oscar the following year, the Todd Philipps-directed film has grossed over $1 billion at the global box office following 22 weeks on the air. What to wonder regarding a possible continuation of the feature film which traces the origins of the enemy of Batman.
For the time being, no sequel to Joker has been formalized either by Warner Bros. or by the creative teams. The rumors are persistent on the Web, to the point that the director was forced to deny them in 2019 and 2020. This does not mean that nothing is in preparation behind the scenes. In an article from Hollywood Reporter dedicated to Hollywood lawyers and dating from 2021, we learn at the turn of a sentence that Todd Philips would have signed for a second Joker. No more information is disclosed on this subject.
A few months earlier, in September 2020, The Mirror evoked negotiations between Joaquin Phoenix and the production to take over the role of the terrifying clown. If we discover that 50 million dollars would have been offered to the Oscar-winning actor, we do not know if the negotiations were successful. The article also mentions two sequels, planned for 2022 and 2024, but the information has never been confirmed by anyone since. The future of Joker in the cinema remains unclear for the moment, and we will have to wait for an official confirmation from the film teams to put an end to the rumors.
film profile
This is a new approach that Warner and DC Comics offer us with Joker. After the more or less failed attempt at a shared universe inspired by Marvel films, the production studio holding the rights to adapt the DC comics is launching films that act independently of each other with Joker, a feature film directed by Todd Phillips. And the approach paid off. The film won critical acclaim while grossing over $1 billion. Crowned the Golden Lion, supreme award at the Venice Film Festival, Joker also earned Joaquin Phoenix his very first Oscar for Best Actor.
Synopsis – Despised by society, Arthur Fleck is a broken man who will gradually turn into the Joker, a bloodthirsty murderer characterized by his clown make-up and his insane laughter. Note that Joker is not part of the shared universe of films adapted from DC comics. It is therefore not linked to Suicide Squad, Justice League or even Batman v Superman.
The success of the film Joker was so important that rumors of a sequel have long fueled the web. A time denied by director Todd Philipps in 2019 and 2020, the “we say” nevertheless persist. Finally, we learn in 2021, in an article in the Hollywood Reporter regarding Hollywood lawyers, that Todd Philipp would have signed for a second film. The release date is still unknown, as Joker 2 has still not been officially announced. According to information from The Mirror dating from September 2020, which cites a source close to the project, we learn that we would have offered 50 million dollars to take over the role of Arthur Fleck. However, it is not known whether these negotiations were successful or not. The potential sequel has never been formalized by Warner Bros or the film crews.
Directed by Todd Philipps, Joker seduced critics, spectators, and even the jury of the Venice festival, which awarded it its ultimate award, the Golden Lion. On Linternaute.com, our readers were ecstatic when the film was released in 2019: Joaquin Phoenix is ”at the top” says pat. Gini confirms: Phoenix is a “genius, impressive actor”. Yoggy3 does not go overboard and announces that the film is a “wonder”. Anne, meanwhile, predicted that “the Oscars are going to rain.”
Beyond the jury of the Venice festival which awarded Joker the Golden Lion, the critics seem convinced. Liberation does not mince its words, the film is “an inspired success in every way” where Joaquin Phoenix is ”extraordinary” in this “disturbing and dramatically intense” feature film. For Widescreen, Joker is an “earthquake”, “a dark, bloody, violent and relevant nightmare”. According to the website dedicated to screen culture, this is where the feature film directed by Todd Phillips (Very Bad Trip, Starsky and Hutch) clashes most with current superhero production, it resolutely moves away from the frivolity of films of the genre, often accused of lacking depth. The specialist magazine First is also very positive, evoking “a pure delight of cinema” which is due both to “the demented interpretation of Joaquin Phoenix” and to the “precise and never agitated realization of Philips”.
Still in France, Le Monde is more reserved, evoking like all critics the talent of Joaquin Phoenix but pointing out the substance of the matter: “Joker does not hide much more than a collection of clichés”. In Belgium, Le Soir is convinced that Phoenix has every chance as a “suitor for the interpretation prize” at the Oscars. Across the Channel, The Guardian is also blown away: Joker is “gloriously audacious and explosive”. The Telegraph asks a crazy question: “Is Joker the next Fight Club?”
A film dedicated to the greatest villain of the Batman universe, the batman is in the minds of fans who have not yet seen Joker. Be aware, however, that the dark knight is not present as such in the feature film by Todd Phillips who has entirely dedicated his film to the transformation of Arthur Fleck into the Joker. The character of Batman does not exist in the film which takes place at a time when Bruce Wayne is still young. The Wayne family appears a few times in the film, but the film mainly focuses on the character of Thomas Wayne, Bruce’s father who will one day become Batman.
Joker won acclaim from critics and viewers alike when it premiered at the Venice Film Festival where the film won the Golden Lion, the ultimate accolade. Since then, Todd Phillips’ feature film has been receiving nominations and recognition, especially for its lead actor Joaquin Phoenix, who has won acting awards throughout the race for the 2020 Oscars. Below is a list of the main awards won by Joker.
- Venice 2019 Show: Lion d’or
- Golden Globes 2020 : Best Actor in a Dramatic Motion Picture (Joaquin Phoenix) / Best Motion Picture Score
- Critics’ Choice Movie Awards 2020 : Best Actor (Joaquin Phoenix) / Best Film Score
- Screen Actors Guild Awards 2020 : Best Actor (Joaquin Phoenix)
- BAFTA 2020 : Best Actor / Best Film Score / Best Cast
- Oscars 2020 : Best Actor / Best Soundtrack
- César 2020 : Best Foreign Language Film (nominated)
Releasing on DVD on February 12, 2020, the video editions of Joker allow fans of the film or those who have not yet seen it to experience the sensation made by Todd Phillips. According to the suggested retail prices, the DVD will set you back €19.99 while the standard BluRay costs €24.99. They are of course available for sale at the usual retailers such as the Fnac Where Amazon. The steelbook version with 4K Ultra HD BluRay and BluRay is also sold for €34.99 per Fnac or at Amazon.
Is Joker too violent? Todd Philipps’ film dedicated to the famous DC villain caused controversy when it was released in October 2019. The American media Variety reports that relatives of Aurora shooting victims have expressed serious concerns regarding the excessive violence in the film. In July 2012, twelve people were killed and 58 others injured during a preview of The Dark Knight Rises, the final installment of the Batman trilogy directed by Christopher Nolan.
Seven years following the shooting, the families of the victims share their concerns regarding the Joker movie in a letter to Warner Bros. CEO Ann Sarnoff: “We call on you to use your platform and your influence to join us in our fight to build a safer community with fewer guns.” If they do not call for the banning of Todd Philipps’ feature film or for its boycott, they regret that the main character is described as a depressed and isolated man who ends up falling into a spiral of extreme violence and violence. ‘anarchy. “Since the federal government has failed to pass measures that would raise the standards for gun owners in America, big corporations like Warner Brothers have a responsibility to act. We sincerely hope you do.”
Warner Bros responds
In response to the letter, a Warner Bros. representative said, “Gun violence in our society is a real problem, and we want to express our compassion for the victims and families affected by these tragedies. Our company has historically widely donated to victims of violence, including those affected by the Aurora killings.” He then returns to the character embodied by Joaquin Phoenix “Warner Bros. believes that one of the functions of storytelling is to provoke difficult conversations around complex topics. violence found in the real world, regardless of its form. It is not the intention of the film, the director or the studio to portray this character as a hero.”
Joker is one of the films of the end of 2019 to have succeeded in moving spectators to theaters. In France, the feature film directed by Todd Phillips exceeded 5 million admissions (5.590 million admissions to be precise). Worldwide, the film worn by Joaquin Phoenix has exceeded one billion dollars in revenue. In total, Joker has amassed $1.061 billion worldwide. A real goose with golden eggs since the film only cost 55 billion dollars during its shooting!
