‘Joker’ Director Todd Phillips Reportedly Getting “Close” On A Sequel

As the formerly AT&T-owned Warner Bros. turns into Warner Bros. Discovery, the future of DC Films is undergoing yet another facelift, reevaluation, and reorg. As David Zaslav takes over, he’s already making many changes. At least one film has been canned altogether; former MGM chief Michael De Luca, along with Pamela Abdyhas been tasked to take over Warner Bros. and oversee DC Films, and J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot DC projects sound like they will all undergo severe scrutiny (keep an eye out there). Plus, the name Todd Phillips has been in the air.

READ MORE: Warner Bros. Discovery Exploring A DC Entertainment Overhaul With A Kevin Feige-Like Czar, Superman Prioritization & Many More Ideas

First, it was said, in the re-envisioning of a new DC, what Phillips had accomplished with the “Joker” was admired and seen as innovative by the new incoming management. Then there were recent reports that Phillips had been approached to advise at DC Films in a creative way.

But there’s more. In Puck News’ report about DC Films Division heads  De Luca and Pamela Abdy potentially enlisting Phillips in an advisory capacity, the newsletter-focused out claimed that Phillips is getting “getting pretty close on a ‘Joker’ sequel.”

This would seem to make a lot of sense. Made for a small $55 million—at least meager by superhero film standards— Phillips film was all upside and grossed $1.03 billion worldwide, easily the most profitable DC Films movie ever made. If the filmmaker is already in talks with the new Warner Bros. chief about his advisory, surely that means they’re aware, and his commitment to WB/DC is only further fueling both his capacity at the company and the additional projects he makes there.

How close is close? Does that mean a screenplay has been completed? Or is it as simple as a second story idea has finally been cracked? That’s completely unclear, but at least the always mercurial Joaquin Phoenix—who was reluctant to star in the film initially—has said he’s open to doing more.

We spoke to Phoenix just over seven months ago during press for Mike Mills’ “Cmon Cmon” movie in which he starred, and the actor said he was unsure if a sequel would happen but that he would still be up for it. “There are some things we could do with this [Joker character] and could [explore] further,” he said about playing the Joker again. “But as to whether we actually will? I don’t know.”

In that case, maybe Todd Phillips better get on the phone with Phoenix soon and maybe drop an “FYI, we’re getting close” courtesy call? Who knows, it really all depends on the depth of the stage the idea is. But look for concrete news in the future because Phillips’ name has come up too many times in the DC Films conversations for it not to mean anything.