Todd Phillips suggests Joker franchise might end after Folie à Deux

Fans who are eager for a Joker 3 from Todd Phillips and Joaquin Phoenix might be let down by Phillips' latest comments regarding the future of the franchise.

In a recent interview with Variety about the upcoming Joker: Folie à Deux, Phillips briefly addressed the franchise's future and seemed to almost confirm that a third installment is not in the works.

"It was fun to play in this sort of sandbox for two movies, but I think we’ve said what we wanted to say in this world," Phillips remarked about his experience working in the comic book movie genre.

Although Phillips didn’t explicitly state that a third film isn’t planned, his comments strongly suggest that both he and Phoenix are finished with the character. With James Gunn also working on his own Batman franchise and Matt Reeves expanding The Batman universe, fans will still have plenty of Batman-related content to enjoy.

Joker: Folie à Deux is directed by Todd Phillips, who also helmed 2019's Joker movie. Before that, Phillips was primarily known for directing comedies, including 2003's Old School, 2004's Starsky & Hutch, 2009's The Hangover, 2010's Due Date, 2011's The Hangover Part II, 2013's The Hangover Part III, and 2016's War Dogs.

The first Joker film was released in October 2019 and became a major success for Warner Bros. Pictures, earning approximately $1.079 billion worldwide on an estimated $55 million budget. It received several Academy Award nominations, with Phoenix winning Best Actor and Hildur Guðnadóttir taking home the award for Best Original Score.

Joker was initially intended to be a stand-alone film. However, Phillips confirmed in June 2022 that a sequel was officially in the works. Joker: Folie à Deux is set in a different continuity from James Gunn and Peter Safran’s upcoming DC Universe, which is scheduled to begin this December with an animated Creature Commandos series.