The leader of the incels, Monsieur Todd Phillips himself, has crashed Pride Month this year. What a shame. Can’t we celebrate in peace? Is nothing sacred?
Yesterday, the anti-woke director revealed his plans for a sequel to his controversial box office hit in an Instagram carousel post, the first photo revealing a screenplay cover and the second showing Joaquin Phoenix smoking a cigarette while reading it (lovely). In any case, get ready for Joker: Folie Á Deux.
Did Todd Phillips realize the harm he was causing when he announced this news? Did he even pause to think about how, for the next few years, we’ve just got to sit, waiting, worrying, dreading the next release of Joker 2 news?
And without any “Are you in the right headspace to receive information that could possibly hurt you?” warning in sight. What a mess.
There have been countless Joker stories—both within and outside of the Batman universe—and yet, here we go again, painting our silly little faces for more tomfoolery. “Folie Á Deux” is a French term that means “a shared mental disorder between two people.” This could be hinting at the introduction of Harley Quinn, or in my eyes, we’re about to see Todd Phillips’ 8 ½: He’s going to join the Joker in joking on screen.
The timing of this news was seen, by some, as an unwelcome affront during what should be a hallowed time:
As to be expected, the reactions for Joker 2 arrived quickly—and they were sure harsh. As they should be, don’t get me wrong! “One pandemic at a time please,” one user quote-tweeted the news.
Hell, even the Joker fans aren’t so pleased about a sequel! “Joker had a perfect ending,” one devotee shared. “A sequel feels very unnecessary.” Hey—if you can’t beat them, join them.
The best feedback, though, included a handful of pitches for Joker 2. A flurry of Joker “fans” had some ideas: Emily in Paris-themed? Zach Galifianakis? Or what about this: “Danny Glover trying to catch the Joker during an LA heat wave and also there’s a war brewing between Colombian and Jamaican cartels.”
Sound familiar? Remember the allegations about how Joker 1 ripped off Taxi Driver almost completely? Well, now begins the search to find another film for Phillips to copy, and Predator 2 appears to have joined the ranks.
Luckily, Joker 1 (and Taxi Driver) star Robert De Niro has been contributing to some lighter headlines in today’s news cycle. While teasing this year’s Tribeca Film Festival, the beloved actor revealed his secret love for Taylor Swift: “I have all of her albums,” De Niro told Variety. “I’m not not a fan. I probably hear her music and like it on the radio.”
Not a Joker-related comment in sight. What bliss. At least someone is trying to cleanse the internet of all Joker news. But that’s probably because his character, TV moderator Murray Franklin, is assassinated in the first Joker film. What will a new Joker movie even be without De Niro?
We don’t officially know if Joaquin Phoenix, the Oscar-winning madman himself, will return for more joking, but Deadline reports that the actor is nearing a deal to reprise his role. If not, it seems Barry Keoghan is willing and able to step into those clown shoes.
There has been, dare I say it, some good to come out of the release of Joker. “This happened to my buddy Eric,” a post on Letterboxd reviewing the film, is one of the funniest things I’ve ever read. “We live in a society” memes are equally hilarious. It seems that, after the debut of Joker, pop culture was split in two: folks who were able to mock the film, and the select batch of incels who related to this nonsense.
If you fall in the former half, let’s get going. There are a million Joker: Folie À Deux jokes to be made before the sequel’s inevitable (and unannounced) release date.
