Joaquin Phoenix Says He'd Be Open to a 'Joker' Sequel

Speaking to The Envelope , Phoenix said that his original reluctance towards playing a comic book character came from a worry that there wouldn't be enough compelling material, but that his experience working with Todd Phillips yielded plenty.

"I guess the fear was that youd get locked into doing something repeatedly that you dont really care about, that doesnt motivate you or excite you," he said. "Part of the whole attraction to me was there was no expectation. I didnt sign a deal to do more. It was a one-off."

However, it wasn't long before Phoenix found himself still thinking about the character and what might happen next in his story. "Long before the release or before we had any idea if it would be successful, we talked about sequels," he said. "In the second or third week of shooting, I was like, 'Todd, can you start working on a sequel? Theres way too much to explore.' It was kind of in jest but not really."

Phillips, meanwhile, insists that a sequel would only happen if they were able to justify telling another story set in this world. "Weve only talked about the fact that if we ever did one and Im not saying we are because right now were not it couldnt just be this wild and crazy movie about the 'Clown Prince of Crime'. That just doesnt interest us," he said. "It would have to have some thematic resonance in a similar way that this does."