Arthur Fleck Was Never The "Real" Joker, Director Todd Phillips Confirms
"He's never been this thing that's been put upon him, this idea that Gotham people put on him, that he represents."
At the end of Folie à Deux, Fleck confesses to his crimes during his murder trial because he comes to understand that the entire system is corrupt and the only way to fix it is to "burn it all down," Phillips told Entertainment Weekly. This is also when Fleck realizes he is not really the Joker.
"When those guards kill that kid in the [hospital] he realizes that dressing up in makeup, putting on this thing, it's not changing anything. In some ways, he's accepted the fact that he's always been Arthur Fleck," Phillips said. "He's never been this thing that's been put upon him, this idea that Gotham people put on him, that he represents. He's an unwitting icon. This thing was placed on him, and he doesn't want to live as a fake anymore--he wants to be who he is."
Phillips also pointed out how Lady Gaga's character, Lee, never uses the name Arthur to describe the character until she tells him goodbye at the end of the film.
"[She's] realizing, 'I'm on a whole other trip, man, you can't be what I wanted you to be,'" Phillips said.
Lee wanted Arthur to embrace being the Joker, and when Arthur refuses to do so and admits to his crimes, Lee has no further use for him and leaves him. Joker and Folie à Deux exist outside the official DC canon, so Phillips and co-writer Scott Silver had the runway to take all manner of creative liberties.
Folie à Deux has earned $120 million worldwide so far, but it's falling well short of the billion-dollar 2019 film--a movie that the sequel was never expected to match or surpass in terms of commercial performance. While the sequel might not be as big of a commercial or critical success, Phillips and Phoenix probably aren't too bothered, as each earned massive paydays for the first movie. Phillips alone is said to have made $100 million or more from the first movie due to how his contract was structured. Phoenix earned an Academy Award for his performance as Joker, and the movie was nominated for Best Picture.
For more on Folie à Deux, check out GameSpot's breakdown of the film's shocking ending.
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DC UniverseThis story originally appeared on: GameSpot - Author:UK GAG
