It’s become almost commonplace for a studio to release some sort of follow-up to a film that is both a commercial and critical success. And that may be happening with Warner Bros.’ Joker. The film, which was directed by Todd Phillips, starred Joaquin Phoenix in the title role which was an origins story for the Clown Prince of Crime. The film opened to the tune of $96.2 million in its debut weekend, and has passed the monumental $1 billion mark since then. So it’s only natural that WB would want to keep that momentum going.

According to some trades Phillips has met with Warner Bros. about taking on a sequel. But this particular news bit isn’t so straight forward. There is a conflicting report from another trade which says there are no current talks regarding the potential sequel. More on the reports below.

Since Joker arrived in theaters at the beginning of this month, it’s been on quite a tear at the box office. This past weekend the movie passed $800 million worldwide, and topped both Deadpool and Deadpool 2 as the new highest-grossing R-rated movie of all time in the process.

As has become customary when a movie beats another movie’s record at the box office, congratulations were in order. And with Ryan Reynolds being the star of the Deadpool franchise, you knew it was going to be a good one. Reynolds sent out a tweet offering congratulations, and did so in a completely fitting way for the new R-rated champ. You can see what he shared below.

Joker
Director: Todd Phillips
Writer: Todd Phillips, Scott Silver
Cast: Joaquin Phoenix, Robert De Niro, Zazie Beetz, Frances Conroy
Distributor: Warner Bros.
Rated R | Minutes: 122
Release Date: October 4, 2019

One of the worse things that a writer and director can do in a comic book film adaptation is misinterpret the source material. It is one thing to re-envision it in order to suit a vision of the story that you want to tell, but it is something else when you go far off the edge just to prove you can be the bleakest of the lot. That is what Todd Phillip‘s Joker does. Using Gotham City as a canvas, the film is painted with the colors of Martin Scorsese inspiration and the complexities of heavy themes of mental illness and social inequality, with a slight touch of DC, all of which makes Joker a dark, depressing, and gritty hardboiled crime drama that also happens to be the origins story for the clown prince of crime. The story delves into the mind of the lonely title character, played brilliantly by Joaquin Phoenix, who has been dumped on by society. But as fascinating as the lead performance is, everything else about it lacks complexities and nuance, and only further stigmatizes those who do suffer from mental illness.

My full review here below.

As with any studio film that features heavy doses of violence, there is a concern that it might encourage others to inflict the same sort of violence they see on screen in real life. That is what happened on July 20, 2012, in Aurora, Colorado, when a man wearing full body armor and armed with multiple guns, including an assault rifle, shot and killed 12 people and injured 70 others during a showing of The Dark Knight Rises.

Director Todd Phillips‘ Batman spinoff Joker, starring Joaquin Phoenix in the title role, presents a darker and grittier take of the DC world, one that will see a lot of gun violence. Due to the violent nature of the film those close to the victims of the Aurora shootings are speaking out, not to boycott the film, but instead to ask Warner Bros. to donate to groups that aid victims of gun violence. To this WB responded with a statement, in which they made it clear that the film is not “an endorsement of real-world violence.” More on the report below.

Warner Bros.’ Joker, from director Todd Phillips, promises to be a deep character study of one of the greatest Batman villains. Starring Joaquin Phoenix as the titular Clown Prince of Crime, the standalone film will be something that is separate from whatever is going on in the DC Extended Universe, and that strategy may prove to be of benefit as it will allow the studio to release darker and more mature material that do not follow the conventional rules of a comic book movie.

Now we are getting another look at the film in the form of the final trailer. Check it out along with a poster below.