Warner Bros. Applauds Joker 2’s Bold Departure from the Original
Warner Bros. leaders have commended Joker 2 for its daring originality, even as the sequel’s unconventional approach failed to match the box office success of its predecessor.
Joker 2 has managed to carve out a rather peculiar place in the annals of comic book cinema. Where the first film soared past the billion-dollar mark, its follow-up, starring Joaquin Phoenix once again, took a sharp left turn. Gone was the brooding, gritty atmosphere that had drawn crowds in droves. Instead, audiences found themselves watching a musical set behind bars, with Lady Gaga sharing the spotlight and the very essence of the Joker character being called into question.
Financially, the numbers tell a rather sobering story. With a production budget rumoured to be around $200 million, the sequel’s global takings of $207 million hardly set the world alight. For many, the experiment simply didn’t land.
Studio Heads Reflect on the Sequel’s Unconventional Path
Yet, within the halls of Warner Bros., the mood is far from despondent. Pamela Abdy, one of the studio’s co-heads, shared her thoughts:
“I really liked the movie, I still do,”
she remarked, speaking to The Wrap. Her colleague, Michael de Luca, offered a bit more context, suggesting that the film’s radical approach may have been its undoing with mainstream viewers.
“It was really revisionist. It may be that it was too revisionist for a global mainstream audience, but I thought that Todd and his screenwriting partner Scott [Silver] did the thing that most people making sequels don’t do, which is they decided to not repeat themselves,”
De Luca explained.
“I do give them immense props for not repeating themselves, but it just turned out to not connect with the audience.”
It’s a rare thing, after all, for a major studio to publicly praise a project that didn’t quite hit the mark with the public. But in this case, the willingness to break away from the expected formula seems to have earned the filmmakers a measure of respect, if not commercial triumph.
A Sequel That Refused to Play It Safe
For those who stuck with it to the end, Joker 2’s finale was anything but conventional. The film’s closing moments offered a rather ruthless dismantling of a character who, since 2019, had become something of a cultural touchstone. Was it mean-spirited? Perhaps. But no one could accuse it of playing it safe or simply rehashing what had come before.
In the words of the Joker himself: you wouldn’t get it. The sequel’s refusal to tread familiar ground may have left some viewers cold, but it certainly didn’t go unnoticed by those at the top.
Looking Ahead to the Next Wave of Comic Book Films
As the dust settles, attention is already shifting to what’s next for DC on the big screen. There’s plenty of chatter about upcoming releases, from the next chapter in the DCU to a fresh slate of superhero adventures. Whether any of them will take risks quite as bold as Joker 2 remains to be seen.
And with 2026 shaping up to be a busy year for blockbusters, there’s no shortage of anticipation. Which new release are you most eager to see? Avengers: Doomsday, Supergirl, The Mandalorian and Grogu, Spider-Man: Brand New Day, or perhaps The Odyssey?