'Joker' Director Todd Phillips Dismisses Speculation of a Third Film

As fans eagerly anticipate the release of the forthcoming "Joker: Folie à Deux," many are wondering if a third installment is in the cards.

The Joker is a prominent character in the DC extended universe, so building on that to create a franchise would make sense, but director Todd Phillips has dashed any hopes of a follow-up to 2019's "Joker" and "Joker: Folie à Deux," which is set to open Oct. 4 — exactly five years after the original film came out.

"It was fun to play in this sort of sandbox for two movies, but I think we've said what we wanted to say in this world," he told Variety in a new interview, seemingly confirming the world he built will come to an end with upcoming Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga-led sequel.

"Joker: Folie à Deux" brings back Joaquin Phoenix as Arthur Fleck/Joker, with Lady Gaga starring as Harleen "Lee" Quinzel, a new take on Harley Quinn. Unlike the original, this sequel will be a jukebox musical rather than a traditional psychological drama. Gaga recently opened up about the film's multigenre approach in an interview with Variety.

"Todd took a very big swing with this whole concept and with the script, giving the sequel to Joker this audacity and complexity," she said.

"There's music, there's dance, it's a drama, it's also a courtroom drama, it's a comedy, it's happy, it's sad. It's a testament to [Todd] as a director, that he would rather be creative than just tell a traditional story of love."

Gaga said they approached the film tentatively, asking, "What would need to be true for two people to just break into song in the middle of a conversation?"

"Where does the music come from when no one can hear it but the characters? Neither Arthur nor Lee are professional singers, and they shouldn't sound like they are," she continued.

"I think we all have an intimate and personal relationship with music in that there's a score for our inner emotional lives," she continued. "A score that no one can usually hear but us. That's what we tried to capture for Arthur and Lee. The music inside them."