Joker 2 has been finally confirmed to be in development, with Todd Phillips and Joaquin Phoenix teaming up one more time, and the working title of the movie, Folie à Deux, confirms the biggest theory about the sequel’s story. The DC Universe has branched out beyond the DC Extended Universe, and in 2019, it brought a different version of the Joker in Todd Phillips’ Joker, set in a universe separate from the DCEU and Matt Reeves’ The Batman.
Joker told the story of Arthur Fleck (Phoenix), a failed stand-up comedian suffering from a strange neurological condition who, tired of being constantly rejected by society, falls into a downward spiral of murder and chaos, inspiring a violent counter-cultural revolution against the wealthy in a decaying Gotham City. Joker turned out to be quite divisive among critics, but it was a huge box office hit and it was nominated for different awards, winning the Academy Awards for Best Actor and Best Original Score, and talks about a sequel began not long after. Rumors about Joker 2 have been floating around since late 2019, with Phillips giving hope to the audience from time to time but without any confirmation on it.
In June 2022, Phillips finally confirmed that Joker 2 is in development and a script is already finished, sharing a photo of it on his Instagram account as well as a photo of Joaquin Phoenix reading it. The photo of the script also reveals the working title for Joker 2: Folie à Deux, which literally translated to English means “madness of two”, and it’s often used to refer to a delusion or mental illness shared by two people usually in close association. The title implies that there will be two Jokers, which is the biggest and most popular theory about the story of Joker 2, with either a copycat inspired by Arthur or him serving as the inspiration for who will become the real Joker.
The idea of Arthur Fleck not being the final version of the Joker emerged even before Joker was released, and its widely believed that Arthur’s actions and story are what inspired the real Joker to turn to a life of crime. The main argument of this theory is that Arthur is too old to be Batman’s famous enemy, as Joker is set in 1981, with Bruce Wayne portrayed as a 9-year-old and Arthur being in his mid-forties. To further support this, Arthur isn’t exactly a man with a plan, which is one of the Joker’s most important characteristics, and Phillips even suggested that Arthur could be the inspiration for the real Joker. Now, Joker 2 could see Arthur Fleck dealing with a copycat or it could tell the origin story of the real Joker, the one who is inspired by Arthur’s actions and who will go on to become one of Batman’s biggest enemies.
Surely, Folie à Deux could also apply to characters like Harley Quinn or Batman, but they both have Joker’s time setting working against them, so the safest bet would be that the title is referring to the theory about Arthur Fleck not being the “final” Joker, and the real one being introduced in Joker 2. Joker told a complete story and gave Arthur a sinister but satisfying ending, so it’s to be seen how Joker 2 will bring him back and what the folie à deux will be about – but two Jokers in one movie would certainly be exciting.