“Is it just me or is it getting crazier out there?”
Things stand to get even more crazy with recent news that actor Joaquin Phoenix was reportedly offered the insane amount of $50 million to wreak havoc in Gotham once more as the titular Clown Prince of Crime, in not one, but two Joker sequels.
According to sources from The Mirror, “Joaquin initially felt Joker was a standalone movie. But he’s changed his tune now. He says he wants to play this character again, despite the controversies that came with the release last year. It’s still being negotiated but the scripts are being written and Joaquin is very engaged with it.”
“They plan to make two sequels in the next four years, with a long-term commitment to Joaquin and his Joker director Todd Phillips and producer Bradley Cooper. It’s all about getting Joaquin to accept the terms – and the biggest payday of his career by far. They hope to have the films ready for 2022 and 2024.”
Director Todd Phillips denied rumors last December that a Joker sequel was in development.
“Here’s the real truth about a sequel,” Phillips said. “While Joaquin and I have talked about it, and while touring the world with Warner Bros executives — going to Toronto, and Venice, and other places — of course, we’re sitting at dinner and they’re saying, ‘So, have you thought about…?’ But, talking about contracts, there’s not a contract for us to even write a sequel, we’ve never approached Joaquin to be in a sequel. Will that happen? Again, I just think the [Hollywood Reporter article] was anticipatory at best.”
2019’s Joker film was a psychological thriller produced and directed by Phillips (War Dogs, The Hangover); he co-wrote the film with Scott Silver. Joker grossed over $1 billion, unseating Deadpool 2 ($785 million) as the highest-grossing R-rated film of all time. The film earned 11 nominations at the 92nd Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director. Joaquin Phoenix, who portrayed Arthur Fleck/The Joker, won Best Actor while composer Hildur Guðnadóttir won for Best Original Score.
What do you think about the news of Joker sequels being closer to reality? Does Joaquin Phoenix deserve the biggest payday of his career to reprise his award-winning performance from the first film? Let us know in the comments.
