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Following the massive, record-breaking success of Joker, fans’ attention has since naturally turned to Warner Bros. to see how they handle the film’s success going forward.
While Joker was initially crafted to be a one-off story, the film’s unprecedented success has forced the studio’s hand, as a sequel seems far more likely than it ever has before. In fact, just a couple weeks ago, The Hollywood Reporter claimed that a sequel was already in the works (that report was quickly squashed by Deadline, though).
Based on what we know about Hollywood — the studio, Todd Phillips, and Joaquin Phoenix can deny the idea of a sequel until they’re blue in the face — the fact is that a second Joker film is but an eventuality at this point, as no one in their right minds would turn away from a character and a franchise as popular and profitable as the Clown Prince of Crime.
But, if (when*) a sequel were to happen, where could the story go? Well, considering this is Batman’s arch-enemy, after all, it only makes sense that the Dark Knight’s cape and cowl would eventually pop up in the universe. And according to recent rumors, Warner Bros. is eyeing Ryan Gosling for that role.
Our sources have now given us another name though that the studio is apparently interested in: Ryan Gosling. To be clear, there are several other actors under consideration as well and we haven’t been able to confirm if the adult Bruce Wayne would show up in Joker 2 or 3, but it’s believed that the Dark Knight will be introduced “eventually.”
You might be wondering how casting actors like Cooper or Gosling would work though, seeing as they’re around the same age as Joaquin Phoenix and Bruce was depicted as a 10-year-old child in Joker. Well, our sources – the same ones who told us The CW was developing an Arrow spinoff back in March and who revealed a Joker sequel was happening a month before THR confirmed it – have said that the studio is aware of this but aren’t too concerned. In fact, they could simply ignore it, similar to how Jason Statham and Vanessa Kirby’s characters are supposed to be about the same age in Hobbs & Shaw when there’s really 20 years between them. [via We Got This Covered]
While the first Joker was able to succeed without the inclusion of Batman, it stands to reason that, eventually, the Dark Knight’s ying to the Joker’s yang needs to be introduced into the universe, and landing someone like Gosling in the role would essentially guarantee that the Joker sequel would also cross the billion-dollar mark.
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Eric is a New York City-based writer who still isn’t quite sure how he’s allowed to have this much fun for a living and will tell anyone who listens that Gotham City is canonically in New Jersey. Follow him on Twitter @eric_ital for movie and soccer takes or contact him eric@brobible.com