2 plot structures that unlock the potential of Joker 2

Directed by Todd Phillips, Joker 2 continues Fleck's story as he stumbles upon true love. The pursuit of love has high intensity, as rebellious as Romeo Juliet or as persevering as Savitri Satyavan or as sacrificial as Psyche Eros or as passionate as Iseult Tristan but the sequel fails to reach such intense heights. Mythosis, with the help of mythological tales, has extracted the plot structure of the movie to estimate and unlock its potential.

1. Mythological tales reveal the invisible plot structure of any story

1A. 96% of the events are borrowed from 4 mythological tales

Arthur's quest is driven by the desire to pursue love and mirrors the tale of Leander from Greek mythology. Both Leander and Arthur strive to get reunited with their true love.

Arthur's quest is also driven by the desire to be righteous and mirrors the tale of Prometheus from Greek mythology. Prometheus is punished by Zeus for helping Man. Similarly, on giving up his Joker persona Arthur is deserted by Lee and killed by a fan.

Lee’s quest is driven by the desire for selfish ambition and mirrors the tale of Valmiki from Hindu mythology. Both Valmiki and Lee are self-centred, even to the point of sacrificing their loved ones.

Maryanne’s quest is driven by the desire to gain respect and borrows events from the tale of Joseph from Abrahamic mythology. The employers of both Joseph & Maryanne are manipulated to punish them.

Sullivan has an underdeveloped quest driven by the desire to punish offenders.

Detailed mirroring of each character’s primary quest to their respective mythological tales is in section “3A. Quests of characters and their mythological counterparts”

1B. 32 mythological tales are the source of all stories, even the untold ones

Human beings are driven by 16 fundamental desires. Every desire, whether encountering fulfilment or unfulfillment, gives rise to two distinct quests. Thus, a spectrum of 32 unique quests mirrors every human desire.

We have discovered mythological tales from across civilizations that uniquely portray each one of these 32 human quests. While each mythological tale stands as a distinct quest, the true magic unfolds when these tales are combined. This synergy is evident in the epics of Odyssey and Ramayan, where various universal quests seamlessly intertwine.

Combining any five tales from the 32, generates a staggering 24 million unique story plots. Take it a step further, by combining six tales the possibilities explode to an astounding 600 million!

The plot of Joker Folie a Deux's is a subset of plot structure #4,463 that interweaves the tales of Valmiki, Leander & Joseph.

2. Plot structure potential of Joker 2: $20-37MM

2A. Plot structure evaluation

An analysis of Blockbuster, Hit & Flop plots has led to the discovery of Mythosis Code. The Code reveals the story principles shared by all Blockbusters. We use the Code to estimate a story’s potential.

All Blockbusters have at least 3 universal quests. Joker 2 uses 4 universal quests of Romance, Accumulation, Idealism and Status
In Blockbusters, each universal quest is mirrored by ONLY ONE character. Arthur mirrors the universal quests of Romance & Idealism. Lee mirrors the quests of Accumulation. Maryanne mirrors the universal quest of Status.
Every Blockbuster character borrows at least 35% of the universal quest. Arthur borrows 18% of events from the quest of Romance & 5% of events from the quest of Idealism. Lee borrows 10% from the quest of Accumulation. Maryanne borrows 7% from the quest of Status.
Blockbusters interweave different quests to create a tight plot structure. Interweaving occurs when events of 2 quests occur simultaneously in the story. Blockbusters have a quest interweaving threshold of 0.5. Joker 2 quest interweaving score of 0.67 is above par. An example of interweaving the quests of Arthur & Lee:

2B. Estimating revenue potential from the plot structure

Every character in Joker 2 has a shallow quest. As a result, they aren’t layered or complex but more importantly it creates gaps in the plot structure. Moreover, Arthur’s quest is inconsistent even after factoring for his split personality.

We have created an algorithm by assigning weights to the principles of The Mythosis Code. The algorithm calculates the potency of a story’s plot structure and estimates its corresponding audience appeal. Blockbuster plot structures have a score of at least 0.64 and appeal to 20% of the audiences.

Joker 2 has a script potential score is 0.02 and the movie has negligible appeal. Our estimate of the movie’s revenues from its script is $20 – 37MM* in the domestic market.

*It’s the equity of the original that will help Joker 2 surpass our estimated revenues.

3. The ideal plot structure of Joker 2

We have identified 32 universal quests that represent every human desire. These quests are the superset of thousands of stories across cultures that reflect our collective subconscious. Each quest has a structured sequence of events divided into 5 major arcs.

We map a character’s quest to the relevant mythological tale (universal quest) which reveals the gaps in their quest, if any. The ideal Plot Structure is constructed by plugging these gaps with the missing events from the tale. These events strengthen both the journey of characters as well as the weaving of quests without altering the story.

3A. Quest of characters and their mythological counterparts

Quest 1: Arthur mirrors the universal quest for Romance

Arthur’s desire for Romance stems from the need to pursue love. The tale of Leander from Greek mythology is the universal quest for Romance.

Quest 2: Lee mirrors the universal quest for Accumulation

Lee’s desire for Accumulation stems from the need to collect & own. The tale of Valmiki from Hindu mythology has a robust expression in Dicken’s character of Scrooge which is the universal quest for Accumulation.

3B. Gaps in the current plot structure

Joker 2’s plot structure is disjointed and weak mainly due to:

- The story falls through the cracks created by Arthur’s dual quest
- Moreover, the shallow character quests adversely impact the audience investment in characters and the story.

3C. Unlocking the hidden potential

Mythosis has found two plot structures that can enhance the script of Joker 2. The first one improves the current script by deepening & amending the existing quests. The second plot structure explores “folie a deux”.

1. Joker 2’s plot is a subset of Mythosis plot structure #4463 that interweaves the universal quests of Romance, Accumulation & Status. This plot structure can generate revenues of $~550MM in the domestic market.
a. Plot structure #4463 uses four arcs from Leander’s quest, three arcs from the quest of Valmiki/Scrooge and one arc (the same one used in the current script) from Joseph’s quest.
b.Borrowing additional events from the two mythological tales adds depth to the quests of Arthur and Lee.
c.The plot structure highlights events that make Arthur’s quest inconsistent

2. Mythosis has found a plot structure that is truly about double madness in plot structure #588,474. It interweaves the fulfilled & unfulfilled universal quests of Romance, Vengeance & Status. This plot structure has blockbuster potential & can generate ~$750MM revenues in the domestic market.
a.In this plot structure Arthur mirrors Leander’s quest, Maryanne mirrors Joseph’s quest and Sullivan has a well-developed quest mirroring Duryodhan’s tale
b.Lee mirrors Savitri’s tale from Hindu mythology.
c.The tales of Leander & Savitri are the two universal quests of Romance
d.Both the tales epitomize the madness that true love inspires. Leander risks his life, while Savitri confronts the God of Death, all for the sake of their loved ones.

Tags: 2024, Accumulation, Joseph, Leander, Long range prediction, Mythology, Plot Structure, Romance, Scott Silver, Status, storytelling, Todd Phillips, Valmiki, Warner Bros. Pictures