What if the conclusion of “Joker 2” had been different? The end of the film is in fact a nod to the first part, which was already to feature a key scene ultimately chosen for “Joker: Folie à deux”.
If the film “Joker 2” struggles to convince spectators, it can count on a spectacular ending. One of the major scenes of the film should never have been included in it. A story of directors.
This new opus of the anti-hero Joker takes place two years after the story of the first opus. We find the character played by the brilliant Joaquin Phoenix in a psychiatric hospital, shortly before his trial.
If the film, halfway between a psychological thriller and a musical, did not receive enthusiastic reviews, the ending imagined by its director Todd Phillips seems to benefit from a more lenient response. In this one (SPOILER ALERT), we can see Arthur get the better of the Joker and get stabbed by another inmate. Attention is focused on the murderer, who mutilates his cheeks to engrave the Joker’s famous smile. We understand that a new Joker is born.
An idea intended for the first opus
But this scene should not have been in Joker 2. Indeed, the idea of the Joker hollowing out his cheeks to mark his smile had already been mentioned for the first Joker. Problem: the brilliant Christopher Nolan, still linked with Warner Bros at the time of Todd Phillips’ first film, had vetoed this scene. For him, only the Joker from the Dark Knight Rises series that he directed (played by Heath Ledger) had the characteristic of slashing himself to create his smile. He therefore refused to reproduce the scene in this new “Joker” franchise.
As revealed by the very knowledgeable MyTimeToShineHello, several scenes were planned to close the film. This choice is as much a spectacular choice as a nod from Todd Phillips to Christopher Nolan’s decision, the latter no longer being under contract with the American studios, and no longer able to veto it. .
In total, three scenes were shot to complete the second opus of Joker, but it is indeed this unplanned ending, in the form of a wink, which was retained. The final scene, which puts an end to the journey of Batman’s enemy, was not planned in the original script of Joker: Folie à deux. The story was originally supposed to end with the Joker being murdered by his lover, Harley Quinn (played by Lady Gaga). One thing is certain, Arthur Fleck’s journey into Joker was destined to come to an end.
