UPDATED: OK So Maybe Todd Phillips Isn’t Working On A JOKER Sequel Quite Yet

(Note: Update to follow original post)

Well, it seemed increasingly inevitable as the box office receipts continued to add up, and now it's been made official: Todd Phillips is working on a sequel to Joker, the billion-dollar cash cow (and possible awards contender!) that's dominated the pop culture landscape over the past few months. And, yes, Joaquin Phoenix will be back to play the Clown Prince of Crime. 

Intriguingly, The Hollywood Reporter (who broke the story this morning) says this isn't the only DC movie Phillips might end up making: according to them, he's been lobbying to "develop a portfolio of DC characters' origin stories", and has secured the rights to at least one of them. We don't know which, but if we're gonna keep doing these villain origin story things, I sure would love to see a Scarecrow movie. Maybe that's just me.

Anyway, Phillips is apparently in line to collect a $100M payday for his work on Joker (the result of deferring his upfront salary in exchange for a slice of the film's adjusted gross), and will likely rake in another gigantic pile of cash for Joker 2. I don't have a joke or anything interesting to say about that, I'm just dumbfounded to imagine ever earning that amount of money for doing anything. Well played, Todd Phillips.

UPDATE: So, sounds like THR may - may! - have had their wires crossed. According to a new post over at Deadline, the meeting described in THR's post between Todd Phillips and WB didn't happen, and while a Joker sequel is the likeliest thing in the world, no deals are in place yet. Indeed, Deadline says negotiations to write the film haven't even started yet. Do with all of that what you will, and stay tuned for further updates on Joker 2 (or whatever it ends up being called) as they roll in.