Joker became the first R-rated film to bring in $1 billion at the box office and Todd Phillips is reaping the rewards. The movie Warner did not even want is a box office juggernaut and has Joaquin Phoenix a good bet for an Oscar nomination for Best Actor. Phillips deferred his upfront salary to take a cut of the gross and will net almost $100 million. This is what happens when you take a chance and believe in your work.
Now Phillips is in talks to return for a sequel because no Hollywood movie that grosses $1 billion will not have a sequel. He will write the new Joker tale with Scott Silver, who helped Phillips with the first script. Phoenix obviously will need to return for this to come into being, but there are options for sequels in his contract so there is that.
Not only is Todd Phillips coming back for another movie with the clown prince of crime, but he has optioned another DC villain for a standalone movie. This is where the secrecy comes into play because no one knows who it will be. Two-Face? Lex Luthor? Condiment King? It seems like Warner has tripped into good fortune with Joker which is almost apropos considering how they have bungled so many DC characters and movies.