Joker has become easily one of the most profitable films of all time, with the $55 million dollar budget film just surpassing its billion dollar mark at the box office. Now Warner Bros are currently in talks with director Todd Philips and Joaquin Phoenix to do a potential sequel due to the film’s massive success. Despite earlier claims that Joker would be a stand alone film separate from the DC Cinematic Universe, Warner Bros sees a ton of franchise potential for their latest success.

Phoenix expressed interest in a sequel during Joker‘s production, stating in an LA Times interview that he discussed the matter with Philips: ‘Todd, can you start working on a sequel? There’s way too much to explore.’ It was kind of in jest — but not really”. Now, however, a sequel seems incredibly likely. Some fans were wondering if the sequel will feature Batman, as Joker‘s ending hinted at it with the Wayne murders. Yet Philips and others have stated that there were no plans to tie Batman into the story and were planning to have a drastically different tone compared to the first film. This also means the next Joker movie will not have any real ties with Matt Reeves’ upcoming The Batman project in summer 2021.

Some might be disappointed with this decision, though Joker‘s stand alone nature was what made it arguably more appealing for fans. But, considering how popular Joaquin Phoenix was as the iconic villain, many will also be excited to see him take on the role again. The fact that he and Philips are in on this together is enough to give fans more hope.