Joaquin Phoenix doesn’t make a lot of sequels. (Although Walk the Line 2: Walk Harder was superb.) And Joker, with its bleak worldview and graphic violence, doesn’t seem like the kind of thing that spawns follow-ups. But when you look at it, this really is a prequel to basically every other Batman movie. And either way, the movie just made $93 million in the U.S. last weekend. If Warner Bros. can continue this movie in some way, it will.

I wouldn’t hold my breath waking for 2oker to happen, but if you were a fan of the film and you want to see Phoenix back in the role, here is a glimmer of hope for you. In an interview with Rolling Stone’s Peter Travers, Phoenix sounded extremely open to returning to Gotham City. In response to a question about whether the Joker was a dream role, he responded:

I can’t stop thinking about it. I talked to Todd a lot about what else we might be able to do, in general, just to work together, but also specifically, if there’s something else we can do with Joker that might be interesting. So, it ended up being a dream role. It’s nothing that I really wanted to do prior to working on this movie.

Here’s the segment in question (or you can watch the entire interview below):

If I was a betting man, I’d say it’s more likely Phoenix and Phillips reteam on a non-Joker project in the future. But again, there’s a lot of money to be made here, and if you can make Joker: No Laughing Matter and earn enough cash that you could recreate that scene from The Dark Knight where Heath Ledger lights that giant pile of money on fire for kicks, and you also are so into the character you’re now calling it a dream role, why wouldn’t you make another?

Gallery — The Coolest Joker Easter Eggs and Movie References:

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