As you may have noticed, the short and long-term future of the DCU and its many pocket universes have been all over the headlines for a variety of reasons since James Gunn and Peter Safran took over as co-CEOs, so there’s an air of damage limitation over the first official look at Todd Phillips’ Joker: Folie à Deux landing online.
Call it fortuitous timing, a coincidence, or anything in between, but the director didn’t waste any time in unveiling the hotly-anticipated return of Joaquin Phoenix’s Arthur Fleck, with production only beginning yesterday. As we can infer, the anarchic failed comedian looks to be getting to grips with his new residency at Arkham Asylum, although we expect he may not be there for the duration of the running time.
The DC fandom has been devolving deeper and deeper into civil war ever since the explosive rumors emerged earlier in the week touting a complete creative overhaul, but the good news is that Joker 2 appears to have united everyone for the first time in a long time, with the hype and expectation already starting to build.
Phoenix won an Academy Award for his performance in the opener, which landed 11 nominations in total including Best Picture and Best Director, while Joker also ranks as the single highest-grossing R-rated movie ever made after hauling in a jaw-dropping $1.074 billion at the box office.
That’s a whole lot of pressure for any second installment to live up to, and that October 2024 release date already feels like a million miles away.