Joker 2: Fans want Willem Dafoe to join Joaquin Phoenix in Folie à Deux

‘If they aren’t in “Joker 2”, then I don’t want it,’ one fan said

Joker fans are all expressing the same hope about the newly announced sequel after discovering its title.

It was announced on Tuesday (7 June) that Joaquin Phoenix would be returning as Arthur Fleck in a follow-up to Todd Phillip’s 2019 Oscar-winning hit.

Phillips has written the Joker 2 script alongside Scott Silver and, in an Instagram post, revealed the title to be Joker: Folie à Deux.

The meaning of the phrase is “a delusion or mental illness shared by two people in close association”, and after discovering this, many fans are recalling a recent interview with actor Willem Dafoe.

Speaking to GQ earlier this year, Dafoe said he had an idea for a possible sequel to Joker, which resembled a comic book storyline titled “The Return of the Joker”.

“There is something interesting about, like, if there was a Joker Imposter,” Dafoe said. “If you had Joaquin Phoenix's Joker, and then you had someone who was either imitating or riffing off what he did."

Fans are now hoping that Dafoe could be a part of the new film, especially as the title tallies up with this plot idea.

Joaquin Phoenix will return for a brand new ‘Joker’ film (Warner Bros Pictures)

“If Willem Dafoe isnt in Joker 2 then I don’t want it,” one fan wrote, with another stating: “Make the second Joker Willem Dafoe.”

Others wondered if the title could refer to Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn – but agreed this would feel underwhelming if this storyline was hashed out yet again on film after Suicide Squad.

“Please can this be the Joker copycat thing Willem Dafoe suggested and not them dragging Harley back into dependance on this man,” a fan wrote.

There is currently no word on a release date, but Joker: Folie à Deux is expected in 2024.