How Involved in Joker 2 Was DC Boss James Gunn? Director Todd Phillips Reveals All

Joker: Folie à Deux director Todd Phillips clears up how much, if any, involvement new DC Studios Presidents James Gunn and Peter Safran had on the sequel. Warner Bros. announced Joker: Folie à Deux in June 2022, with Gunn and Safran being named the heads of the newly formed DC Studios in October. While Gunn’s DCU Chapter 1, “Gods and Monsters,” will be interconnected by stories like Superman, Creature Commandos, Lanterns, Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow, and Dynamic Duo, he also confirmed DC Studios would make adaptions separate to the main continuity under the umbrella “Elseworlds,” which would include Matt Reeves’ The Batman series and Todd Phillips’ Joker films.

While some have assumed that Gunn and Safran were heavily involved in the Joker follow-up following their new roles, during a pre-screening Q&A of Joker: Folie à Deux, via SlashFilm, Phillips clarified that this was not the case. While Gunn and Safran did see a cut of the movie, they were hands-off on the project as the film was announced before they were appointed to run DC Studios. Thus, Joker: Folie à Deux was under the control of Warner Bros. Pictures itself, not DC Studios. Phillips explained:

“With all due respect to [Gunn and Safran], this is kind of a Warner Brothers movie, and that’s them also wanting it to be like, ‘Okay, Todd did his thing. Let Todd continue to do his thing.’ It is not like DC proper, even though it’ll say DC after.”

This does match what James Gunn said back in December 2023, when he said he saw a cut of Joker: Folie à Deux and gave notes but that the film was primarily in Warner Bros.’ hands. Joker: Folie à Deux began filming in December 2022, just one month after James Gunn and Peter Safran became the heads of DC Studios and one month before the DCU film and television plan would be announced. Joker: Folie à Deux was greenlit during a transition period as Warner Bros. tried to figure out what to do with their DC adaptations. Based on the reviews for the Joker sequel, they could maybe have spent a little more time in the planning stage.

Joker: Folie à Deux seemed like a sure thing. A sequel to the popular 2019 film Joker that not only grossed $1 billion worldwide but also earned 11 Academy Award nominations, including a win for Best Picture, the follow-up should have been an effortless hit. However, the reaction has been far from positive, as it received the worst rating for a comic book adaptation on CinemaScore and has gotten negative reviews from critics and audiences alike. It also came in well below expectations at the box office, grossing $40 million on its opening weekend, down over $50 million from the first movie back in 2019. Joker: Folie à Deux follows a trend of Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, Shazam! Fury of the Gods and Wonder Woman 1984 as a DC sequel that did far worse at the box office and with critics than its predecessor.

There was a time when Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav shelved Batgirl as a tax write-off, and DC Studios co-president Peter Safran said it would “hurt” the DC brand, but the near-universal panning of Joker: Folie à Deux has likely done far more damage. Todd Phillips was given a blank check on Joker: Folie à Deux, as well as being given little to no studio oversight, as the film reportedly had no test screenings. Now that the film is out, it’s likely that the studio wishes that check had bounced. While James Gunn might not have had any involvement in Joker: Folie à Deux, the film’s negative reaction has certainly put more pressure on his upcoming slate, specifically Superman, to hopefully turn DC and Warner Bros. fortunate at the box office around.