UPDATE: ‘Joker’ Sequel In The Works With Director Todd Phillips

UPDATE: Variety and Deadline are now reporting that claims of Philips discussing another origin project are false. However, the trades can’t seem to agree on the validity of the meeting between WB and the Joker director about a potential sequel. Stay tuned for further updates.

Joker has been the talk of the town, being the fourth DC film to cross the one billion dollar mark at the box office. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the success has earned director Todd Phillips the lead in negotiations for a Joker sequel, with talks of also developing the secondary branch of DC Films, the origin stories.

After Joker became the highest-grossing R-rated movie of all time, more and more people began talking about sequel potential. Before that though, on October 7th, that idea is precisely what pulled director Todd Phillips into Warner Bros. Pictures Group chairman Toby Emmerich’s office. Initially, he proposed that he wanted to lead the efforts on DC character origin stories. As a result, Emmerich apparently balked at the idea, backing up that all DC deals have been for one film. While Phillips didn’t come out with exclusive rights to DC origin stories, he did come out with the rights to one DC story: a sequel to Joker. With the film continually doing well at the box office, Phillips is working on the Joker sequel.

Both Phillips and Scott Silver, who wrote the Joker screenplay, will return to write the sequel. Warner Bros. has sequel options in place for the star of the Joker film, Joaquin Phoenix, but both declined to comment on talks for his return. Phoenix emerged strong in Joker and is now a strong contender for Best Actor at the Oscars. With the initial film’s budget at only $60 million, it’s generated the best profits of the four DC films that have crossed $1 billion. It’s earned Phillips close to $100 million after taking a higher gross of the profits in exchange for not taking a higher upfront salary.

READ: ‘Joker’ Officially Passes ‘Deadpool 2’ To Become Highest-Grossing R-Rated Film Of All-Time

Phillips left much to be discussed after Joker, drawing Bruce Wayne into the mix. While he won’t explore Wayne’s origins (that’s for Matt Reeves), there are plenty of other characters he could explore. It’s intriguing to see what could happen for this branch of DC Films.

What do you think about the potentials of a Joker sequel? Which other DC villains would you want to see an origin film about? Let us know in the comments below, or on Twitter, @fullcirclecine.

Joker is now playing in theaters.

The film stars Joaquin Phoenix, Robert De Niro, Zazie Beetz, Frances Conroy, Brett Cullen, Shea Whigham, and Bill Camp.