When Christopher Nolan Prevented Joaquin Phoenix’s Joker to Copy Heath Ledger’s Iconic The Dark Knight Face ( Photo Credit – Wikimedia )
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DC Comics’ adaptation Joker: Folie à Deux has been generating overwhelming buzz since its release, but neither critics nor fans seem impressed by its story or musical numbers. Many in the latter group feel the sequel to the 2019 blockbuster has undone the original’s impact and legacy altogether.
The Todd Phillips directorial features several controversial scenes that have reignited discussions about the gory details of its billion-dollar predecessor. This echoes the media outrage sparked by the first film, with accusations of glorifying violence resurfacing. One particularly comparable sequence involves a character carving their face, taking viewers back to the days of Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight trilogy.
Interestingly, the “carving a smile” scene seems inspired by Nolan’s version of Batman’s nemesis, portrayed by the late Heath Ledger in his Academy Award-winning role. According to inside sources who spoke to The Hollywood Reporter, Nolan was consulted by the makers of Joker during its 2018 production, with significant emphasis on this terrifying graphic shot.
The critically acclaimed, Oscar-winning film concludes with Joaquin Phoenix’s portrayal of Arthur Fleck/Joker leading riots in the streets of Gotham, as a mob of criminals rallies behind him. He climbs atop a police car, smearing blood on his face to form a wide, ear-to-ear smile. As disturbing as this scene was, the original plan had envisioned Fleck carving the smile into his face, mirroring the gruesome backstory shared by Ledger’s Joker in The Dark Knight.
During consultations, Nolan—then still involved with Warner Bros and DC Studios—rejected the idea, feeling it was too closely associated with Ledger’s iconic portrayal of the character. The filmmakers took his advice, cautiously avoiding the resemblance between the two Jokers. The film went on to become the highest-grossing R-rated movie of all time, a title it held until earlier this year when it was surpassed by Deadpool & Wolverine. Phillips’ film also managed to surpass Nolan’s own The Dark Knight comfortably, while also bringing The Hangover director nominations for Best Director, Adapted Screenplay, and Picture.
Five years later, with no Nolan to talk him out of it, and the studios backing his creative freedom, Phillips revisited the idea and even went ahead with it to give Joker: Folie à Deux an unsettling ending. Unsurprisingly, the bloody shot turned out to be far from the most controversial one, in a movie that managed to flinch the audiences in multiple alternative ways from sexual violence to extended musical numbers, all of which took an unpredictable change of direction from 2019’s Joker. Evidently, Joker: Folie à Deux yielded unimpressive box office figures, ending up debuting to less than 50% of its predecessor.
