Director Todd Phillips has refused to rule out making a sequel to the wildly popular Joker film, but says that he would only do so on one certain condition.
It's actually a strange one. He wants any potential second film to be in some way thematically similar and tonally appropriate.
That means we're unlikely to see Joaquin Phoenix's incredible performance as Arthur Fleck turned into Jack Nicholson's camp portrayal in Tim Burton's 1989 Batman film.
What made Joker so special was that, whilst it told the story of the formative years of the Clown Prince of Crime, it retained a lot of serious themes and real emotion.
In short, it was a comic book film that was not at all like any other comic book film.
Phillip wants any second film to keep hold of that energy.
In an interview with LA Times, Phillips said: "It couldn't just be this wild and crazy movie about the Clown Prince of Crime.
"It would have to have some thematic resonance in a similar way that Joker does. Because I think that's ultimately why the movie connected, it's what's going on underneath.
"So many movies are about the spark and this is about the powder. If you could capture that again in a real way, that would be interesting."
That's fair enough, it would have to be done properly if it was to match up to the critically acclaimed first edition, anyway.
Interestingly enough, Phillips isn't the only integral member of the team behind Joker to discuss the idea that they might come back to do it all again.
Obviously, they're gonna need Joaquin to don the famous red suit once again, aren't they?
Well Phoenix has previously said that he'd consider the idea. Whether or not he's being serious - we all know The Joker hates being too serious - is anyone's guess, but in an interview - also with LA Times - he said: "Long before the release or before we had any idea if it would be successful, we talked about sequels.
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"In the second or third week of shooting, I was like, 'Todd, can you start working on a sequel? There's way too much to explore'. It was kind of in jest - but not really."
However, he clarified: "I wouldn't just do a sequel just because the first movie is successful.
"That's ridiculous.
"I guess the fear was that you'd get locked into doing something repeatedly that you don't really care about, that doesn't motivate you or excite you,
"Part of the whole attraction to me [of Joker] was there was no expectation. I didn't sign a deal to do [more movies]. It was a one-off."
Featured Image Credit: Warner BrosTopics: TV and Film, US Entertainment