SPOILER ALERT: This text accommodates main spoilers for the ending of “Joker: Folie à Deux” now enjoying in theaters.
Joaquin Phoenix dons his clown make-up as soon as once more in “Joker: Folie à Deux,” the follow-up to his Oscar-winning efficiency from 2019. This time, he’s joined by fellow Oscar winner Girl Gaga, who performs one other iconic DC Comics villain, Harley Quinn.
The comedian guide sequel takes place after the occasions of “Joker,” with Phoenix’s killer clown Arthur Fleck on trial for the murders he dedicated within the first film. His lawyer, performed by Catherine Keener, argues that Arthur and Joker are two totally different folks. She claims that after years of childhood abuse, Arthur developed an alter-ego that’s separate from his personal thoughts. The prosecution is led by assistant district legal professional Harvey Dent, performed by “Business” star Harry Lawtey, who’s later often known as the disfigured villain Two Face within the Batman comics.
The jury sides with Dent and convicts Arthur of homicide. Nevertheless, earlier than the trial can proceed, a bomb explodes exterior of the courtroom, sending town into chaos. Arthur briefly escapes with the assistance of two Joker devotees, however he’s quickly captured by police and introduced again to Arkham Asylum. Additionally, it seems that Harvey’s face was injured within the courtroom explosion, probably setting him as much as turn into Two Face sooner or later.
The film ends on a bloody observe, as Arthur is ambushed the following day by a laughing, clearly insane Arkham affected person. The inmate, performed by Connor Storrie, tells Arthur a joke after which repeatedly stabs him within the abdomen. Arthur falls over, bleeding profusely, and seems to die. Behind him, the unnamed psycho laughs uncontrollably and carves a Glasgow smile into his face with a knife.
Many DC followers have theorized that Arthur’s killer may very well be an homage to Heath Ledger’s Joker in “The Darkish Knight,” since each of them sport the identical gnarly scars round their mouths. Todd Phillips’ “Joker” and Christopher Nolan’s “Batman” trilogy happen in several time durations and universes, so it’s unlikely that Storrie’s character is expounded in any respect to Ledger’s.
In “The Darkish Knight,” Ledger’s Joker backstory is essentially unknown, and he presents differing accounts of how he bought his facial scars. Early within the film, he says his father drunkenly reduce him as a baby, however later he says the scars have been self-inflicted after his spouse was given a Glasgow smile over her playing debt. “The Darkish Knight” additionally befell within the trendy 2000s period, whereas the “Joker” films are within the ’80s, giving little proof that the “Folie a Deux” character is something greater than a wink to Ledger’s Oscar-winning position.
It seems that Phoenix is hanging up his purple swimsuit and clown make-up with “Folie à Deux.” The “Joker” films have existed in their very own world, with no connections to Matt Reeves’ “The Batman” or James Gunn and Peter Safran’s rebooted DC Universe, so it’s unlikely Phoenix’s character will likely be resurrected or revisited. The following time we might see a live-action Joker could also be when Barry Keoghan finally reprises his position from the ultimate scene of “The Batman,” maybe in Reeves’ sequel in 2026.