Willem Dafoe has “fantasized” about playing the Joker…kind of

With his menacing grin and that hellish Green Goblin laugh, Willem Dafoe has everything he needs to play a perfect Joker. Not only is the prospect of seeing Dafoe inflict terror upon the streets of Gotham as the Clown Prince of Crime something that fans are keen to see, but the actor himself has also spent time “fantasizing” about it.

Dafoe is so invested in playing the Joker that he’s even laid out a potential story in his head. Rather than portraying a classic Joker, he has something a little different in mind. “There is something interesting about, like, if there was a Joker imposter,” he told GQ.

Specifically, he’d like to play an imposter Joker opposite Joaquin Phoenix’s Arthur Fleck. It sounds like he’s totally down to create a Joker-verse, which these days doesn’t sound absolutely crazy. “So it would be possible to have not dueling Jokers but someone that says to be the Joker that isn’t the Joker,” Dafoe said. “And that kind of opens up the possibility of an interesting story, particularly if you had Joaquin Phoenix’s Joker, and then you had someone who was either imitating or riffing off what he did.”

Before we get carried away, Dafoe explained that the idea is just that: an idea. Nothing more. “I fantasized about that. But other than that I am not talking to anybody [about it].”

Willem Dafoe’s history of playing bad guys

Dafoe does have a particular association with villainous characters. Look no further than his recent return to action as the Green Goblin in Spider-Man: No Way Home.

So what is it that makes him so perfect to play baddies? “I don’t know what that is,” he said. “I’ll play dumb. You play characters. I could say, ‘Oh yeah, it’s fun to play villains ’cause you can do things that you can’t do in life, or it’s fun to play with your dark side’. But I don’t know. I’m not thinking about those things.”

I suppose if he’s fantasized about playing the Joker, one of the most iconic villains of all time, it’s fair to say that Dafoe won’t stop wanting to portray villains anytime soon.

Currently, a second Joker movie is said to be in development, although nothing is confirmed. With the first being a smash-hit at the box office, a sequel wouldn’t be a surprise.

However, don’t expect to hear about it anytime soon. Back in October 2021, Phoenix insisted that he’s still unsure about whether a sequel will happen. “From when we were shooting, we started to – you know, this is an interesting guy,” he told The Playlist. “There are some things we could do with this guy and [explore] further. But as to whether we actually will? I don’t know.”

If we do get a sequel, let’s keep our fingers crossed that Willem Dafoe gets a call.

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