The actor suggested the idea of a ‘Joker imposter’ in a sequel
Willem Dafoe has revealed that he would like to star alongside Joaquin Phoenix in a Joker sequel.
Dafoe, who has already made a name for himself in the comic book world thanks to his performances as the Green Goblin in the Spider-Man films, was quick to pitch his idea for a follow-up to Phoenix’s hugely successful stand-alone feature – and couldn’t hide his desire to feature in it.
Dafoe was speaking to GQ ahead of the release of Guillermo del Toro’s new thriller Nightmare Alley, which he stars in alongside Bradley Cooper and Cate Blanchett.
He said: “There is something interesting about, like, if there was a Joker imposter. So it would be possible to have not duelling Jokers but someone that says to be the Joker that isn’t the Joker,” he said.
“And that kind of opens up the possibility of an interesting story, particularly if you had Joaquin Phoenix’s Joker, and then you had someone who was either imitating or riffing off what he did.
“I fantasised about that. But other than that I am not talking to anybody [about it], you’re the first one.”
The actor added that despite being known for playing one of cinema’s most infamous comic book villains, he doesn’t prefer those sort of characters anymore than other roles.
He said: “I’ll play dumb. You play characters. I could say, ‘Oh yeah, it’s fun to play villains ’cause you can do things that you can’t do in life, or it’s fun to play with your dark side’.
“But I don’t know. I’m not thinking about those things.”
Ever since Joker was released to huge box office success, there have been rumours of a sequel.
Director Todd Phillips has previously said that whilst a sequel isn’t yet in the works, Warner Bros. is giving them time to “figure it out, and if Joaquin’s down to do it, we would do it.”
Even Phoenix himself hasn’t ruled out a sequel, saying there are “things we could do with this guy [Joker] and [explore] further.”
Related links:
- Man dressed as Joker injures 17 in knife and fire attack on Tokyo train
- Spider-Man No Way Home becomes highest fan-rated movie in Rotten Tomatoes history
- The Batman: internet divided over Riddler first look
