Joker 2: How a Sequel Could Fix a Missed Opportunity
When the stand alone Joker film released in 2019 few knew what they had on their hands. Between director Todd Phillips at the helm and Jaoquin Phoenix to star it was a match made in heaven for DC and Warner Bros. It would go on to be the first R-rated movie to cross $1 billion dollars and get a little more footing under the foundation of the DC Universe on screen.
Having reset after Jared Leto’s role Suicide Squad was undercut by the studio they needed success here. Not to mention, they already let Margot Robbie go out on her own with Birds of Prey after everyone fell in love with her character.However for the studio, clever writing needs to bring these two villains back together on the big screen in hopes of going forward. Imagine Jaoquin Pheonix’s Joker on screen with Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn. You could even use Jared Leto in the mix, again with clever writing.
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Insert the Joker Sequel, Joker 2 if you will. If DC wants the star power in this film, why can’t Joker 2 by a Harley Quinn origin story told in the same way Arthur Fleck’s story unfolded. Putting a spin on the classic origin story of everyone’s favorite pranksters, shouldn’t we get a movie where we see why she was so drawn to the Joker?
As a therapist, she was intrigued. What others saw as madness, she admired. As someone with a strong understanding of the mental psyche we could see hers slowly devolve into the same madness that Arthur’s did at the end of the original film. She meets him after the scene at the end of the first movie with him running around the hospital. She finds the humor in his antics and is drawn to him.
How doesn’t that translate into both Jokers sharing screen time? Imagine Jaoquin Pheonix in the early stages of her love affair. This is the man she always sees in her eyes. He’s broken and forgotten. He loved his mother and no matter what she sees the man she loves.
But the Joker isn’t right in the head. There’s little rhyme or reason to his madness. One day he snaps and goes off the deep end. The version everyone but Harley sees is Jared Leto’s Joker. He’s the true Clown Prince of Crime. Just like in the animated series and comics he’d constantly play Harley for a fool. This would eventually lead to the climax of the film where the two face off after she finally sees him for what he truly is. Cut to a teary scene where she thinks she kills him and in his “final moments” she sees Jaoquin’s face once again and leaves him for dead.
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There’s the clear break from the Joker you’ll need as that character goes on. It would set up a much needed Harley/Ivy movie that should happen. Show a post credit scene where Leto’s Joker is heard laughing while crawling away. Now you have the ability to use his character going forward
A Harley Quinn origin isn’t necessary but should exist. Why wouldn’t you take a great story paired with great actors and put it on the big screen?
Rick ODonnell aka Caveman Rick has many years covering the Miami Dolphins, Sports, and all sorts of movies and television.
