Fan-casting happens every day, but every now again, an inspired idea starts making headlines. I submit for your approval the possibility of Willem Dafoe playing a version of the legendary Jester of Genocide, Joker. Recently, while participating in an in-depth interview with GQ, Dafoe shared that he’s heard the fans pleas for him to suit up as the Clown Prince of Crime, and he’s got an idea as to how a Joker sequel can all go down.
Before we go any further, please understand that this is all hypothetical. Dafoe made it clear to GQ that he’s “not talking to anybody [about it]” and that any ideas he might have are nothing more than fantasy at this stage of the game. That being said, Dafoe thinks he has the perfect idea for a sequel to Todd Phillips‘ Joker, in which Joaquin Phoenix played The Ace of Knaves.
“There is something interesting about, like, if there was a Joker imposter. So it would be possible to have not dueling Jokers but someone that says to be the Joker that isn’t the Joker. 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 fantasized about that,” Dafoe told GQ.
Holy Bat-sh*t! Can you imagine a Joker film starring both Phoenix and Dafoe as different versions of the iconic killer clown? Gotham City would likely be reduced to nothing more than rubble within a week. Which of the two Jokers would win out if push came to shove and there was only room for one? Would one Joker move into Bludhaven territory? Would both Jokers team up and start a franchise? I have so many questions.
It’s been a while since Todd Phillips’ Joker took the box office by storm with more than $1 billion earned at the worldwide box office. That said, this hasn’t stopped fans from calling on Phillips and friends to make a sequel. Phoenix himself has denied that any such plans exist but when a movie makes that much money, you can bet that someone is going to try their damndest to make it happen.
What do you think of the idea of Willem Dafoe’s idea for a Joker sequel? Would a copycat story work? I could see Dafoe arriving on the scene as a die-hard fan of Phoenix’s Joker, and possibly challenging him for the role of top dog in Gotham City. Stranger sequels have been made. Let’s hope the powers that be are listening, and that they have Dafoe’s number on speed dial.