Joker is all set to pass $1 billion at the worldwide box office and create history. Naturally, the question on everyone’s mind is: will there be a sequel. Director Todd Phillips opened about this a bit more, elaborating on the one condition that would have to be met for this to happen. According to Phillips, Joker 2 would need to have some thematic resonance:

It couldn’t just be this wild and crazy movie about the ‘Clown Prince of Crime’. It would have to have some thematic resonance in a similar way that this does. Because I think that’s ultimately why the movie connected, it’s what’s going on underneath. So many movies are about the spark, and this is about the powder. If you could capture that again in a real way, that would be interesting.

Although there are no sequel plans in the works at the moment, Todd Phillips has been slowly warming up to the idea of making one. Joaquin Phoenix had earlier jokingly asked Phillips to explore a sequel given the wealth of possibilities to mine at their disposal with their character. It looks like some serious talks could commence behind the scenes about the duo returning for another go at the iconic Batman villain.

In the second or third week of shooting, I was like, ‘Todd, can you start working on a sequel? There’s way too much to explore,’. It was kind of in jest — but not really.

Joker has made an insane amount of money at the box office, passing milestone after milestone in a short span of time. It’s the most successful R-rated (comic book) movie of all time and that’s not an easy achievement to come, especially given the early skepticism that surrounded the film. It’s still running in theaters so catch it if you still haven’t.

As for Joker 2, we’ll keep you posted on any developments.