Joker 2 looks to be taking a big step forward as director Todd Phillips shares an image of the completed script. Joaquin Phoenix led the cast of the first Joker as Arthur Fleck, a down-on-his luck comedian and clown who finds himself falling down a rabbit hold of madness in a crumbling 1981 Gotham City. Fleck eventually takes his frustration out on those he deems are leading to society's decay, becoming the infamous DC Comics villain the Joker.

Alongside Phoenix, the cast for Joker included Robert De Niro, Zazie Beetz, Frances Conroy, Brett Cullen, Glenn Fleshler, Bill Camp, Shea Whigham and Marc Maron. Co-written and directed by The Hangover's Todd Phillips, the film received mixed-to-positive reviews from critics but was well-received by audiences and was a box office smash, becoming the first R-rated film to gross over $1 billion at the global box office. Talks of a Joker 2 have swirled in the years since the first film's release and now fans of the original are getting exciting news.

Related: Joker 2 Can Fix A Batman Movie Villain Problem (By Copying Burton's Penguin)

Amidst rumors of the sequel moving forward at the studio, Todd Phillips took to Instagram with the first major Joker 2 update. The director shared an image of the cover of the script for the new film as well as star Joaquin Phoenix reading the current draft of the screenplay. Check out Phillips' reveal below;

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Phillips' confirmation of Joker 2 comes just days after a report indicated that the filmmaker was getting very close to cracking the sequel on the heels of Michael De Luca taking over as head of Warner Bros. alongside fellow former MGM exec Pamela Abdy. Though critics weren't swept away by the original Joker, it proved to be the surprise hit of 2019 where not only did it score over $1 billion at the box office but led the 92nd Academy Awards with 11 nominations, including Best Picture, Director and Adapted Screenplay. Joker was mostly shut out at the award show by Bong Joon-ho's Parasite, though would take home the prizes for Best Actor for Phoenix and Best Original Score for Hildur Guðnadóttir.

The reveal of the Joker 2 script comes with a number of exciting developments on the sequel, including the return of Phoenix as the titular character and co-writer Scott Silver. Additionally, the script seemingly offers a hint of what's to come from the new film with its subtitle reading "Folie à Deux", which roughly translates to "madness for two" and is a mental disorder affecting two or more individuals, seemingly hinting at the possibility of multiple Jokers being seen in the film. This concept was recently proposed by Willem Dafoe, who suggested the story see a copycat Joker face off against Phoenix's, which many audiences have responded to with much enthusiasm. Given Joker 2 has only just been confirmed by Todd Phillips, further news is likely not coming for some time, leaving fans to revisit the original Joker streaming on HBO Max for the time being.

More: Joker 2 Can Deliver The Best Part Of Affleck's Canceled Batman Movie Plan

Source: Todd Phillips/Instagram

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