Christopher Nolan reportedly nixed the original ending to 2019’s Joker.
Directed by Todd Phillips, the Joaquin Phoenix-starring Joker movie was released in 2019. The film was a huge hit for Warner Bros., as it brought in approximately $1.079 billion at the global box office, making it the highest-grossing R-rated movie of all time up until Deadpool & Wolverine surpassed it this summer. It also earned Phoenix an Academy Award for Best Actor and was the first DC movie to be nominated for Best Picture.
A sequel, Joker: Folie á Deux, was released in United States theaters this past weekend. Reactions to Joker: Folie á Deux have been mixed from fans and critics alike and, so far, the film has made $114.7 million at the global box office.
At the end of the first Joker movie, Phoenix’s Joker/Arthur Fleck is arrested after killing Robert De Niro’s Murray Franklin on live television. This causes a riot to break out in Gotham, leading to a key scene where Arthur, having been freed from the authorities during all the chaos, smears blood on his face in the shape of a smile while standing in front of a crowd.
Why did Christopher Nolan nix the ending to the original Joker?
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Phoenix was originally supposed to pull out a sharp object and carve his face in front of the rioters during the ending of the original Joker.
Nolan, however, nixed the idea, as he believed “only his Joker (Heath Ledger) should carve his face.” Nolan directed the three Christian Bale-starring Batman movies, which include 2005’s Batman Begins, 2008’s The Dark Knight, and 2012’s The Dark Knight Rises.
Nolan is now working with Universal Pictures instead of Warner Bros., meaning he had no say over what happens in Joker: Folie á Deux. The end of the movie sees an Arkham inmate repeatedly stab and kill Arthur in the stomach; after doing so, said inmate then begins to carve his own face in the shape of a smile.
Joker: Folie á Deux is now playing in United States theaters.
