A new piece of Joker 2 fan art imagines Joaquin Phoenix’s titular villain facing off against a sinister imposter version of the character.
A new piece of Joker 2 fan art imagines Joaquin Phoenix facing off with an imposter variant of the Joker. Although long a staple of DC Comics and the DCEU, Phoenix’s long-awaited take on the Joker came to fruition in 2019 with Todd Phillip’s Joker. The film chronicles the downfall of Arthur Fleck, a mentally troubled standup comedian whose harsh treatment by society sets him on the path to becoming iconic supervillain the Joker. The movie earned mostly positive reviews from critics and was a major hit at the box office, earning over $1.074 billion throughout its theatrical run.
Although for a long time the movie was not officially confirmed, both Phillips and Phoenix have continually expressed their interest in returning for another installment. Phillips recently confirmed on social media that his script for Joker 2 (co-written by Scott Silver) is now complete, sharing a picture of the front cover and revealing the working title of the sequel to be Joker: Folie à Deux. It’s unlikely this will be what the final film is called, but the French phrase does hint at what the sequel could be about, translating to “madness of two.” In addition to Phoenix, the first Joker starred Zazie Beetz, Robert De Niro, Shea Whigham, and Brett Cullen.
With many fans now speculating about what the title of Joker 2 could mean, digital artist Bosslogic has taken to Instagram to share his own fun interpretation. The art features Phoenix’s Joker on the cover of the script, but with his shadow taking the form of another, sinister imposter version of Joker clutching a knife.
The plot of the upcoming Joker 2 is still anyone’s guess, but the title does suggest that Phoenix’s Clown Prince of Crime could be joined by another character, perhaps one just as troubled as he is. As Joker is both the hero and the villain of the film, the story needs to do more than just depict him terrorizing Gotham and give him an interesting antagonist to face off against. If, for instance, as the art suggests, Joker was challenged by an even more evil version of himself, Joker 2 could see the character devolve further, potentially making him more dangerous and more ruthless than he was in the first film.
Joker 2 currently has no official release date and, considering it’s still in the script phase, audiences are likely in for a long wait before they will know the true meaning of the title. For now, however, Phillips’ recent announcement is clearly inspiring impressive levels of creativity from fans of the character and the first film, with artists like Bosslogic putting their own spin on what the title could mean. With a new version of the Joker having recently been introduced in The Batman and Phillips’ hint that Joker 2 might feature another character similar to the Joker, it’s certainly looking like fans will have plenty of options when it comes to rooting for the iconic supervillain.
