As Warner Bros. Studios is moving forward with Joker 2, the sequel should focus on other Gotham City villains since they can't do Batman in the Jokerverse, yet. While there have been multiple iterations of Joker on the big and small screen, only one has gone on to have his own film franchise. With Joaquin Phoenix the latest actor to bring him to life in 2019, Joker was a huge hit, both critically and financially, becoming one of the few comic book films ever to be nominated for Best Picture at the 92nd Academy Awards.
Phoenix's performance earned him an Oscar for Best Actor, following the late Health Ledger, who won posthumously in the Best Supporting Actor category for his Joker portrayal in The Dark Knight. While a sequel to Joker was not planned originally, following its positive commercial and receptive results, Warner Bros. is moving ahead with Joker 2. Todd Phillips, who directed the first installment, is reportedly signed on to pen the screenplay for the sequel. Whether or not the director will helm Joker 2 remains to be seen, but it is not impossible.
Since Joker 2 seems to be in the early stages, no plot details are known at this time. The first film concluded with Arthur Fleck completing his transformation into the Clown Prince of Crime. It also kicked off Bruce Wayne's origin story after his parents get murdered. Even though it would be natural to have the next story be about Batman and Joker, it is still too early. Instead, Joker 2 should continue to invest in fleshing out Phillips' Gotham City and the villains that the Dark Knight will one day fight.
When Joker introduces Bruce, he is somewhere between 8-11 years old, barely a teenager at this point. If Joker 2 was doing a massive time jump so it can feature a 20-something Bruce, it skips at least ten years of Arthur's life. Since this franchise is called Joker, and not Batman, doing a flashforward just to see Bruce become Gotham's protector takes away Arthur's journey. Even though Joker sets the stage for Bruce's journey, he is not the main character in this universe.
The time frame in Joker 2 will likely be that it picks up either a year or two after the events of the first installment. If so, Bruce will probably be 12-13 years old, which obviously erases the idea of him being Batman in the sequel. It is not unlikely, however, for Bruce to appear in some capacity in the second installment. But just because Bruce is currently too young to be the Dark Knight, that doesn't mean Joker 2 can't do some groundwork for what will become the Gotham City DC fans know and love.
As much as Joker is about the evolution of Arthur becoming Batman's famous nemesis, it was also the origin story of how Gotham City begins to fall. At the beginning of the film, as Arthur goes through his life struggle, he takes his first step in becoming The Joker when he murders three business people who work for Wayne Enterprises. But once Thomas Wayne makes demeaning accusations at people who are "beneath" the victims, referring to them as clowns, a movement is born against Gotham's upper-class society.
Even though Arthur didn't plan for this to happen, it worked to his advantage as the movement recognizes him as a hero. While his followers begin as protestors, they ultimately become rioters by the end of Joker. After Arthur's horrific visit on Live! With Murray Franklin, he comes full circle as The Joker, with a whole movement embracing him for what he was able to start. Despite Gotham already being in pretty bad shape early in the film, the climax marks the moment when the city truly begins to fall to crime, and it is only just beginning.
Based on how the first installment ends, it paves the way for Joker 2 to do something akin to what the Batman prequel show Gotham did for five seasons on FOX. While primarily being told from James Gordon's POV, Gotham focused heavily on Batman's villains before they became their respective comic book counterparts. As the series followed along with Bruce's upbringing, Gotham showed the evolution of Batman's future Rogue's gallery. This is a concept that would work cinematically in Joker 2, especially if the sequel gets an R-rating, allowing the creative team to go even darker.
The Joker may be Batman's most iconic villain in the mythology, but so many of Bruce's enemies exist within the world of Gotham City. Within the Jokerverse, there are an endless amount of foes who have yet to be "born," so to speak. From popular DC villains like The Penguin, Mr. Freeze, Scarecrow, The Riddler, and the Court of Owls, there is potential for great world-building in Joker 2, if that is something they incorporate. It wouldn't be shocking if Arthur's actions influenced someone like Edward Nygma or Oswald Cobblepot to get into the criminal world.
Despite Joker 2 not being able to have this version of Bruce as Batman already, that doesn't mean the franchise can't serve as an origin story for him. The other tragic element of Bruce losing his parents the way he did is how it forces him to grow up quickly. When the Waynes are murdered, it's the end of Bruce's childhood and it changes him forever. If Joker's Gotham begins to fall into the hands of criminals, especially if it gives birth to Batman's rogue's gallery, it sets the foundation for why the city will need a crime fighter.
Imagine the scenario if Joker 2 leads to a third installment; the trilogy could end with Gotham hitting rock bottom, which is why Batman needs to be born. The older Bruce grows, the closer he will be to becoming the city's vigilante protector. Since Batman's origin story has been told multiple times, the Joker franchise can be about the city's journey in how it becomes the Gotham DC fans have come to know. Rather than showing Bruce Wayne's training to become Batman and how he becomes the Bat, Joker 2 can demonstrate the reason why he has to become the Bat.
Since this is the first time any supervillain in DC Films history has gotten a franchise of their own, there are many ways Joker 2 can go. If Arthur is the creator of Batman's rogue's gallery in this universe, that would be an intriguing concept for the character's media legacy. Hopefully, more details about Joker 2, and where this franchise is going in general, will emerge sooner rather than later.
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