"Joker" Director Todd Phillips Says Movie Success Isn't Related To Batman

Joker was one of the top movies of 2019, from both financial and critical standpoints, having topped over $1 billion at the box office.

The movie was extremely well-received by DC Comics fans and pundits. Joker is up for four Golden Globe Awards: Best Motion Picture - Drama, Best Director (Todd Phillips), Best Score (Hildur Guðnadóttir) and Best Performance in a Motion Picture – Drama (Actor, Joaquin Phoenix).

The Clown Prince of Crime is widely regarded as the most iconic DC Comics villain. Joker is by far the most beloved and followed Batman enemy of them all, and it's no wonder that he was the first character from the Dark Knight's Rogues Gallery to receive a standalone film.

It's easy to suggest that the universal following and admiration of the Caped Crusader was largely responsible for the success of Phillips' Joker. But the director of the 2019 blockbuster doesn't agree in that notion, sharing his take in an interview with Deadline:

"I think it was more than that.I mean, I think there are themes in the movie that really resonated with people. None of us thought an R-rated movie could do over $1 billion across the world. But I think the themes in it really resonated.

The thing Scott Silver and I set out to do when we wrote the movie together was to make something meaningful in that comic book space, but also something really that addressed what was going on in 2016, when we started writing.

It’s pretty obvious what was happening in our country in 2017 while we were writing it, and really wanted to use Joker to make a movie about the loss of compassion and the lack of decorum in the world."

Related: Todd Phillips Says Warner Bros. Is "Giving" Time For A Sequel

Many of the recent films that featured DC characters were largely met by negative reviews, including Suicide Squad (2016), Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016) and Justice League (2017). But Phillips' blockbuster certainly surpassed expectations this year, and the success of Joker has many calling for a sequel.

Though Phillips admitted that he and Phoenix discussed another Joker film during production, nothing is set in stone. The good news for Joker fans is that Phillips recently stated that Warner Bros. is "giving" time for a sequel. There's no timeline on when another film would take place, though.

Robert Pattinson is set to star as the World's Greatest Detective in The Batman (2021), which will be directed by Matt Reeves. But Joker fans shouldn't get their hopes up too high, because Pattinson shut down any speculation of Phoenix's character appearing in the film. The villains for the upcoming Batman movie consist of Zoe Kravitz (Catwoman) and Paul Dano (Riddler).

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