Joker 2: DC Black Label Is Dead as Todd Phillips Leaves DC

As a long-time admirer of the intricacies and complexities that Todd Phillips weaves into his films, it’s always a thrill to delve deeper into the DC universe through his lens. The announcement of no Joker 3 leaves me with a bittersweet feeling, much like the taste of Arthur Fleck’s signature green soda.

Todd Phillips is saying goodbye to the DC Universe. The director of “Joker: Folie à Deux” and the first DC Films production, the 2019 “Joker” which grossed $1 billion worldwide and earned him a Best Director nomination, has announced that there will be no “Joker 3”. Phillips stated to The Hollywood Reporter that “This movie isn’t really where this story is going for me. I feel like my time in the DC Universe was these two films.” In other words, he doesn’t plan to make another film about Arthur Fleck (played by Joaquin Phoenix) and his love interest, Lee (better known as Harley Quinn, played by Lady Gaga).

Back in 2019, Phillips expressed similar sentiments when speculating about a possible “Joker” sequel with Phoenix. He stated, “[We have] no plans for a sequel,” adding that he would do anything Phoenix desired, but the film wasn’t structured to warrant one. They had always presented it as a standalone movie, and that was it.

Five years had passed, and the sequel made an appearance – receiving a mix of opinions – that unfolded as a musical centered around Arthur’s court trial. Similarly, the ending of Joker 2 seems to indicate the curtain has fallen on any potential follow-up. However, at one point, the original Joker was proposed as the foundation for DC Black, a label intended to distinguish “movies with an independent spirit featuring these [DC] characters” from the broader DC Films universe (previously known as the DC Extended Universe).

Deriving its name from the adult-oriented comic book line, DC Black Label, known for dark graphic novels such as “Batman: Damned” and the origin tale of Harley Quinn titled “Harleen”, Phillips suggested that DC Black could serve as a daring and expansive platform for filmmakers to retell DC characters’ stories beyond the scope of the DCEU.

2019 on the show “Behind the Lens,” Phillips stated, “I proposed that this would be our initial film, followed by two different directors for separate projects, naming it DC Black. I suggested that ‘Joker’ would be our debut film.” Later, he was told, “Hold your horses, you’re not launching a label here at Warners,” due to his ambitious plan involving multiple DC Universe characters and character studies.

Initially, the DC Films division, led by president Walter Hamada, considered establishing a separate DC Black label. However, this plan was abandoned, making “Joker” the sole film outside of the DCEU canon until “The Batman” in 2022. Noteworthy, “The Batman,” also produced under its own distinct continuity called The Batman Epic Crime Saga by Matt Reeves, marked the first movie to follow this pattern after “Joker.” As per Phillips, the decision was made not to create a separate label because they could produce films like “Joker” under the DC Films banner and make it clear that they are independent productions.

2019 found me enthusiastically advocating for three DC Black films, with “Joker” being one of them. I also pitched ideas for two other movies, led by two other talented directors, though I didn’t disclose their names or the DC villains they might have portrayed in Joker-style films back then. Later on, producer Michael Uslan hinted at a potential Mr. Freeze movie, while filmmaker Mike Flanagan (The Haunting of Hill House, Midnight Mass) has allegedly presented a concept for a Clayface film to James Gunn and Peter Safran – the dynamic duo who restructured DC Films into the revamped DC Studios when they took over in 2022.

In a shift from the existing DC Extended Universe, Gunn and Safran’s fresh take on the DC Universe will debut with the December premiere of the animated series “Creature Commandos,” followed by the July 2025 launch of their new canon with the Gunn-directed “Superman” movie. However, projects outside of this cinematic universe will be labeled as Elseworlds, a term borrowed from another DC imprint for stories set apart from the main continuity. As Gunn clarified last year, while both the DCU and Elseworlds fall under the umbrella of DC Studios, these stories are not interconnected. This distinction does not apply to “Joker 2,” which falls under the Elseworlds category but was developed under Warner Bros., not DC Studios. “Joker: Folie à Deux” is set to hit theaters on October 4th.

2024-10-02 03:40

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