Incels and DC fans everywhere rejoice, the rumours are true! Late-stage capitalism has answered your pleas and bestowed upon us a sequel for Joker (2019), despite the fact it absolutely did not need one. Nothing decent can exist on its own and if it can make money then it must!
Todd Phillips, the director of the first film, shared the title of the sequel on Instagram along with a picture of Joaquin Phoenix reading the script. Yes, we tried to zoom in. No, we did not discern anything. My iPhone can only get me so far.
The script for the new movie was written by Phillips and Scott Silver, who worked on the first film. It’ll be called Joker: Folie à Deux. Intriguing.
For the those who didn’t learn the meaning of that phrase from Fall Out Boy’s 2008 album of the same name (emos rise up), “folie à deux” means “a mental disorder affecting two or more individuals, usually from the same family”. Or, more often: “shared madness”.
My initial thoughts were that our Joker gets a partner-in-crime. A posse of other villains that help him terrorise the city? Is it too much to hope for a Harley Quinn?
Or maybe — and probably more likely — the title is referring to those in Gotham who see the Joker as a hero and join his cause. Not as fellow key villains, but as swathes of followers. Kinda like what we’ve seen with the incels who claimed him despite having zero understanding of the film’s criticism of capitalism. Sigh. Anyway.
I wouldn’t be surprised if this Joker 2 is a meta exploration of the deifying of disenfranchised murderers, à la The Batman (2022). I, personally, would love for the film to criticise its rabid, white supremacist fanbase. Or at least challenge them. But maybe I’m asking a bit too much.
There’s also questions about when the film will take place — in Joker, Bruce Wayne was just a kid. Are we going to see him grown up and involved in the Joker’s story?
Only time will tell.
