Willem Dafoe Wants To Play The Greatest Supervillain Of All Time And Tells Fans They Can Make It Happen
Willem Dafoe would love to play a Joker imposter in Joaquin Phoenix's Joker sequel.
Willem Dafoe wants to join the ranks of Mark Hamill, Heath Leger, and Jack Nicholson. That is to say, Willem Dafoe wants to play the Joker, or at least a version of the Joker. Per Entertainment Weekly, Dafoe wants to play an “imposter” Joker in the Joaquin Phoenix universe, and he thinks that fans can make it happen.
Willem Dafoe isn’t satisfied having played one of the greatest Marvel villains ever: the Green Goblin in Tobey McGuire’s Spider-Man, Spider-Man 2, and Spider-Man 3, as well as in Tom Holland’s Spider-Man: No Way Home. He also wants to play a version of the all-time best supervillain from any comic book series, and he’s presented his idea out into the void of the universe and is waiting to see what might happen. Willem Dafoe would love to play a Joker impersonator who claims to be Joaquin Phoenix’s Joker and see a plot unravel that explores what Phoenix’s Joker might do about it.
This is an idea that Willem Dafoe has had in mind ever since he saw Phoenix’s Joker in 2019. Last year, the Inside star mentioned his interest in playing a Joker imposter, and the internet subsequently went wild. It turns out that the idea of having two “dueling Jokers” is something that DC fans want, and they want it now.
Despite Willem Dafoe setting off the internet with his mischievous idea, the Joker sequel is already in production, with Lady Gaga set to play Harley Quinn next to Phoenix’s Clown Prince of Crime. Dafoe says that Warner Bros. Pictures never contacted him to brainstorm further. Even so, Warner Bros. has been known to cater to fans under pressure in the past, so if people really love the idea of Dafoe as a Joker impersonator and they make enough ruckus online, it still might happen.
Without Willem Dafoe on board, Todd Phillips is set to write and direct the Joker sequel, Joker: Folie à Deux. Phillips also wrote and directed the first Phoenix Joker movie, and Scott Silver has helped him pen both scripts. Phoenix will be returning to his infamous rendition of Arthur Fleck, the man who became the Joker.
While it would have been cool to see Willem Dafoe as a Joker impersonator, audiences can’t wait to see how the unknown plot of the 2024 sequel will unfold. Phoenix and Phillips did an excellent job of recreating the greatest supervillain of all time in a unique way that showed the classic crazy clown from a brand new angle. It will be interesting to see how they expand on Arthur Fleck’s journey and how Lady Gaga’s Harley Quinn will come into play.
Although Willem Dafoe may not be playing any type of Joker anytime soon, the actor is not without work. In fact, Dafoe’s schedule is busier than ever, and the actor has 11 projects that he’s currently working on, including playing another infamous movie character—Nosferatu. Additionally, Dafoe has seven projects in post-production, including Wes Anderson’s Asteroid City, also starring Margot Robbie and Tom Hanks.
