WARNING: This article contains spoilers for Joker: Folie À Deux!Joker: Folie à Deuxmight not be talked about as positively asThe Dark Knight Rises, but the twoDCmovies have a major aspect in common. The fall from grace of the Joker franchise has been surprising to watch.Joaquin Phoenix won Best Actor at the Academy Awards for his role as Arthur Fleck in 2019’sJoker, with the movie breaking box office records left and right to become the highest-grossing R-rated film of all time. Five years later, when Marvel’sDeadpool & Wolverinehad just takenJoker’s box office title,Joker: Folie à Deuxfailed to meet expectations.
The latest DC film opened way lower than expected at the box office, withJoker: Folie à Deux’s reviews— both with critics and fans — being overwhelmingly negative.The Dark Knight Rises, to a lesser extent, also faced criticism. The movie has the lowest audience score of director Christopher Nolan’s Batman franchise on the popular review aggregator websiteRotten Tomatoes.The Dark Knight Risesis often talked about as the “worst” ofNolan’s Batman films.The Dark Knight RisesandJoker: Folie à Deuxalso share another key aspect beyond their placement in their respective franchises.
Arthur Was Never Meant To Be The Joker (Like It Or Not)
2019’s Joker Did Hint At That Fate
Joaquin Phoenix plays Arthur Fleck in the Joker franchise. The character is one of themany people affected by the cycle of violence and poverty that rules Gotham City. In 2019’sJoker, director Todd Phillips explored Arthur’s journey as the character was thrown to the ground and kicked while he was down, both literally and figuratively, until something snapped within him. As its title makes it clear, the DC film saw Arthur Fleck transform into the Joker, with the film’s ending featuring an iconic shot of Arthur making a bloody smile on his face that just screams “Joker.”
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Joker: Folie à Deux subtly answers a major question that had been left in the air in Joker, completely changing the ending of the 2019 DC movie.
However, the first of Phoenix’s Joker films also featured a key moment that would later make even more sense when connected with the sequel, as Arthur Fleck was never meant to be the Joker. Instead of having the Joker kill Bruce Wayne’s parents, as has happened with other versions of the character, 2019’sJokerchose to make the Waynes' killer one of the people inspired by Arthur Fleck, a Joe Chill-like character, showing how Arthur was not the direct cause of Batman, but an inspiration that led to others acting.
Joker: Folie À Deux Explicitly Confirmed Arthur Isn’t The Joker
The DC Sequel Has Made Controversial Choices
While 2019’sJokeronly teased that Arthur Fleck’s true role might be as an inspiration to others,Joker: Folie à Deuxmade it very clear that he wasnever destined to become the Joker that would go on to fight Batman. Much of the second movie in the franchise is spent on Arthur’s time behind bars at Arkham or during the character’s trial. Arthur Fleck killed six people inJoker, withFolie à Deuxconfirming that he did not murder the Arkham psychiatrist at the movie’s ending like the film made it seem, putting that moment in a new light.
Shot in the head
Shot in the chest
Shot in the back multiple times
Suffocated with a pillow
Randall
Stabbed in the throat and eye, head bashed against the wall repeatedly
Murray Franklin
Shot in the head on live TV
The subtle reveal that Arthur imagined that final scene where he dances around Arkham with blood on the soles of his shoes was not the only way thatJoker: Folie à Deuxrecontextualized the original film.Joker: Folie à Deux’s endingcompletely changed the trajectory of Arthur Fleck’s story. While Phoenix’s character embraced his Joker side at the end of the first movie,the sequel’s ending saw Arthur realize that he was never truly the Joker, throwing away that fantasy of a powerful figure he had created for himself. That would lead to a shocking moment.
Arthur Fleck never kills in Joker: Folie à Deux.
Arthur Fleck had inspired a fellow inmate at Arkham, and after he revealed that the Joker was a lie, Connor Storrie’s Young Inmate was furious.Joker: Folie à Deuxrevealed that Storrie’s unnamed character is the true Jokerof the franchise, as the young Arkham inmate stabbed Phoenix’s Arthur Fleck to death after telling him a joke, then went on to carve a smile on his face, taking Arthur’s place. The younger Joker makes a lot of sense, as Bruce Wayne was still a kid in 2019’sJoker, which made the age gap between him and Arthur Fleck too great.
Joker 2’s Ending Is About Joker As A Symbol
While it has not resonated with many,Joker: Folie à Deuxdoes have a story to tell, and it is that Arthur Fleck’s tragic journey is not the end of the Joker. The character was never meant to be Gotham City’s Clown Prince of Crime.Joker: Folie à Deuxfocuses once again on its lead character’s psyche, breaking down what makes Arthur Fleck tick — who he is at his core. At the end of the film,Arthur realizes that he was never the Joker, which was a facade he created to retrieve the power he thought society owned him.
The movie makes it clear that the Joker is not really just one person, but an idea, and through that mantle, Fleck manages to inspire thousands.
While Arthur Fleck is dead, the character’s legacy as the Joker will live on. The movie makes it clear that the Joker is not really just one person, but an idea, and through that mantle, Fleck manages to inspire thousands.Joker: Folie à Deuxcontinues to show what the original movie started, with Fleck’s trial being a huge source of attention, as thousands stopped to watch or gathered outside the tribunal. Fleck directly inspired Lady Gaga’s Harley Quinn — Lee — and Storrie’s Young Inmate, withthe Joker becoming a symbol of going up against the system.
The Dark Knight Rises Used The Same Message As Joker 2
Christian Bale’s Batman Also Ended His Journey As A Symbol
Director Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight trilogy was all about how a man might be just a man, but a symbol can last forever.The Dark Knight Rises' endingreally hones in on that point with its handling of Bruce Wayne and the Batman legacy. After Christian Bale’s Batman “dies” — actually retiring with Anne Hathaway’s Catwoman — heleaves his role as Batman and the Batcave in the hands of Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s John Blake, ensuring that the Dark Knight would continue to protect Gotham even if Bruce was absent.
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Joker: Folie à DeuxandThe Dark Knight Risespassed on their main characters' titles to other players in two completely different ways, to opposite reception from fans, but both DC movieswent all in on the symbolism of the Batman and Joker roles. The reasonJoker: Folie à Deuxhas been received more negatively thanThe Dark Knight Rises, while both films share a pretty similar message, is likely due to how the latest DC release subverted expectations and walked a path that undid most of what the previous film in the franchise had built.
Joker: Folie a Deux
Cast
Joker: Folie à Deux is the sequel to Todd Phillips' critically acclaimed comic book thriller Joker. Reprising his Academy Award-winning performance as the failed comedian Arthur Fleck, Joaquin Phoenix revisits the iconic DC character alongside Lady Gaga, who makes her debut as Joker’s lover Harley Quinn in this standalone continuity of the DC Universe.
The Dark Knight Rises
The Dark Knight Rises follows Batman as he returns to Gotham City eight years after the death of Harvey Dent. Now pursued by law enforcement, he faces new challenges from Selina Kyle and Bane, a formidable terrorist leader who threatens the city’s safety, compelling Batman to defend a city that sees him as a foe.
