The continuation of Jokercurrently in theaters since October 2, 2024, ends with a conclusion echoing a certain… Christopher Nolan. In its finale, Folie à Deux thus gives a nod to The Dark Knightbut above all to the decisions of its director. Spoilers.
Apparently, the saga Jokerstarted by Todd Phillips in 2019, is not supposed to have any links with previous variations around the character and the universe of Batman. More Folie à Deuxreleased on October 2, 2024 in cinemas, gives a nod to Christopher Nolan, director of The Dark Knightwhich has a surprising connection to the ending of the film in particular.
Warning, the rest of this article contains spoilers for the finale of Joker and its sequel, Folie à Deux.
Heath Ledger ou Joaquin Phoenix ?
Remember: in 2019, Arthur Fleck, in the guise of the Joker, sparked a profound revolution in the streets of Gotham, ignited by his anti-elite speech. The character took advantage of this bloody rebellion, before being arrested, then taken to Arkham, where he is imprisoned at the start of the sequel, Folie à Deux.
Except that this first film should never have ended this way. And according to The Hollywood Reporter, the change was ordered by… Christopher Nolan himself, director of The Dark Knightwhich established Heath Ledger as the best interpretation of Batman’s adversary, in 2008.
Originally, Arthur Fleck was to bow out in a completely different way, in the first Joker : by cutting his cheeks, to draw an eternal smile on his face, in front of a crowd won over to his cause.
But this conclusion, with Joaquin Phoenix, was too close to the appearance of Heath Ledger, for Christopher Nolan’s taste. At the time, in 2019, the filmmaker had established a long-standing partnership with Warner Bros, also producers of Joker.
Folie à Deux does justice to the cut ending of Joker
He would therefore have used his fame to modify this sequence, so that the Joker of The Dark Knight remains the only one to have this distinctive smile, all scars. But since then, the relationship between Warner Bros and Christopher Nolan has greatly deteriorated, the latter having left the ship to settle at Universal, since the release ofOppenheimerin 2023.
Five years later, the way was clear for Folie à Deuxwhich takes the opportunity to offer a controversial finale. In the latter, Arthur Fleck is finally murdered by one of his fellow inmates. As he lies on the ground, facing the camera, the second shot, blurred, reveals a much more disturbing conclusion: the murderer cuts his cheeks, with Machiavellian laughter.
So the Joker is dead, long live the new Joker. An outcome which very much resembles a deliberate snub to Christopher Nolan, finally allowing Todd Phillips to shoot the famous ending he had in mind all this time.