Update 11/21: Sorry, Joker fans — looks like the sequel news was premature at best according to director Todd Phillips himself.

What a wild day yesterday was for Joker fans.

The Hollywood Reporter initially broke the exclusive news — which we reported on here — that Warner Bros. was in talks with director Todd Phillips to develop not only a Joker sequel but an additional villain origin story.

Then, Deadline published a conflicting report that completely disputed The Hollywood Reporter article, saying that there had been no real talks between Warner Bros and Todd Phillips for either a sequel or another DC villain origin story.

So what is the truth?

IndieWire sat down today with Todd Phillips himself to get the story straightened out.

According to Phillips himself, “there are no deals in place nor is there a script being developed at this time.” He also disputed THR’s assertion that he demanded access to more DC characters, saying, “if you know me and my career, that’s not my style. I made a huge comedy at Warner Bros., The Hangover and I didn’t suddenly become a comedy factory producer.”

What Phillips had initially done was pitch an entire DC Black label — that is, one-off, solo stories that didn’t have to adhere to current canon — before Joker ever came out. Given that the movie was seen as a risk initially, it makes sense that Warner Bros. turned down that proposal — though now with the success of Joker, you have to think that Warner Bros. must at least be seriously considering it.

However, don’t despair completely, Joker fans. While there are no current plans to make a Joker sequel, Phillips stated that a sequel isn’t completely off the table. After all, Joker is the most profitable comic book movie ever made, so it seems likely that Warner Bros. has at least thought about.

Still, there’s no real forward movement on a sequel either at the studio level or at the creative level. Fans will simply have to be content — for now — with the one-off, solo film.

Original Story: Time to celebrate, Joker fans! The billion dollar grossing movie will spawn a sequel with Todd Phillips back at the helm and Joaquin Phoenix likely to return.

Joker recently managed to cross $1 billion at the box office without opening in China, making it the most profitable comic book movie ever and the highest grossing R-rated film ever.

So it should come as a surprise to no one that Joker — in the grand tradition of comic book movies — will be receiving a sequel film.

Though the comic book movie was initially pegged as a one-off solo film, both star Joaquin Phoenix and director Todd Phillips had been discussing a sequel to the media as the success of the film grew.

Now, according to THR, with Joker having crossed the $1 billion mark, a sequel is on the way with Phillips in talks to reprise his role as director and Scott Silver to reprise his role as co-writer (along with Phillips).

Warner Bros. has sequel options in place for Joker star Joaquin Phoenix as well. Though the star hasn’t commented on the sequel at the time this article was written, it seems highly likely he’ll return given his obvious love for the role and the positive response to his performance from critics and from audiences alike.

As to what the sequel will delve into, it’s still too early to know any details.

In addition to a Joker sequel, Phillips also asked for access to develop a portfolio of DC characters’ origin stories. Warner Bros. rejected his pitch for all the characters, but sources close to THR say that Phillips obtained rights to at least one other DC story, meaning that we’ll likely be getting another DC villain origin story that takes place outside the current DCEU canon.

As to what that DC Elseworlds/DC Black story might be, we still have yet to find out — though we here at Hypable have a few ideas.