SPOILER ALERT: This article comprises convey inant spoilers for the finishing of “Joker: Folie à Deux” now carry outing in theaters.
Joaquin Phoenix dons his clown originateup once aobtain in “Joker: Folie à Deux,” the chase-up to his Oscar-thrivening carry outance from 2019. This time, he’s joined by fellow Oscar thrivener Lady Gaga, who carry outs another iconic DC Comics villain, Harley Quinn.
The comic book sequel consents place after the events of “Joker,” with Phoenix’s ender clown Arthur Fleck on trial for the killings he pledgeted in the first movie. His lawyer, carry outed by Catherine Keener, debates that Arthur and Joker are two contrastent people. She claims that after years of childhood unfair treatment, Arthur lengthened an alter-ego that’s split from his own mind. The prosecution is led by helpant didisconnecte attorney Harvey Dent, carry outed by “Industry” star Harry Lawtey, who’s tardyr understandn as the disfigured villain Two Face in the Batman comics.
The jury sides with Dent and convicts Arthur of killing. However, before the trial can progress, a bomb device explodes outside of the courtroom, sfinishing the city into disorder. Arthur inestablishly escapes with the help of two Joker pledgees, but he’s soon seized by police and brawt back to Arkham Asylum. Also, it materializes that Harvey’s face was injured in the courtroom explosion, potentipartner setting him up to become Two Face in the future.
The movie finishs on a bloody notice, as Arthur is ambushed the next day by a giggleing, evidently inrational Arkham forendureing. The inmate, carry outed by Connor Storrie, inestablishs Arthur a joke and then repeatedly stabs him in the stomach. Arthur descends over, bleeding profparticipately, and materializes to die. Behind him, the unnamed psycho giggles unadministerlably and carves a Glasgow smile into his face with a knife.
Many DC fans have theorized that Arthur’s ender could be an homage to Heath Ledger’s Joker in “The Dark Knight,” since both of them sport the same gnarly scars around their mouths. Todd Phillips’ “Joker” and Christopher Nolan’s “Batman” trilogy consent place in contrastent time periods and universes, so it’s improbable that Storrie’s character is roverhappinessed at all to Ledger’s.
In “The Dark Knight,” Ledger’s Joker backstory is hugely unrecognizable, and he proposes contrasting accounts of how he got his facial scars. Early in the movie, he says his overweighther drunkenly cut him as a child, but tardyr he says the scars were self-imposeed after his wife was given a Glasgow smile over her wagering debt. “The Dark Knight” also took place in the conmomentary 2000s era, while the “Joker” movies are in the ’80s, giving little evidence that the “Folie a Deux” character is anyskinnyg more than a thrivek to Ledger’s Oscar-thrivening role.
It materializes that Phoenix is hanging up his red suit and clown originateup with “Folie à Deux.” The “Joker” movies have existed in their own world, with no connections to Matt Reeves’ “The Batman” or James Gunn and Peter Safran’s rebooted DC Universe, so it’s improbable Phoenix’s character will be resurrected or revisited. The next time we could see a live-action Joker may be when Barry Keoghan eventupartner repascends his role from the final scene of “The Batman,” perhaps in Reeves’ sequel in 2026.