Joker 2’s Ending Is Actually Exactly What You Wanted According To Game-Changing DC Theory

Warning: This article contains spoilers for Joker: Folie à Deux.

A new DC Universe theory changes how the final moments of Joker: Folie à Deux are watched, and gives audiences exactly the thing they wanted from the 2024 sequel. Despite following on from 2019’s Academy Award-winning Joker, Todd Phillips’ Joker: Folie à Deux has not performed nearly as well, and has received a huge amount of criticism. This has been overwhelmingly aimed at the fact that Arthur Fleck never actually became the Joker in Folie à Deux, but rather renounced this identity and confessed to his crimes as the clown-themed villain.

While Lady Gaga’s Harleen “Lee” Quinzel spent the duration of Joker: Folie à Deux trying to bring out the Joker persona of Joaquin Phoenix’s Arthur Fleck, Fleck eventually realized that the Joker had never existed, and was just a symbol unwittingly bestowed upon him. Without the protection of Joker, Arthur Fleck is killed by another inmate in Arkham Asylum in Joker: Folie à Deux’s final moments. This inmate then begins to carve a Glasgow smile into his own face, teasing him as the real Joker, but a new theory has a different response to this shocking ending.

The Joker Killed Arthur Fleck In His Mind: Joker 2 Theory Explained

Joker: Folie À Deux’s Ending May Have Happened In Arthur Fleck’s Imagination

As it plays out in Joker: Folie à Deux, the young inmate, played by Connor Storrie, who kills Arthur Fleck has been teased as his successor and a more faithful depiction of DC Comics’ Joker. However, a new theory shared by Reddit user Quirky-Pause2910 suggests that Storrie’s Joker: Folie à Deux character may not be a different character at all, but could actually be the Joker persona inside Arthur Fleck’s mind. It’s very possible that Folie à Deux’s final scene takes place in Fleck’s imagination, with the Joker killing the Fleck persona and taking full control.

The Reddit theory suggests this ending for Joker: Folie à Deux would mirror the ending of 1999’s Fight Club, but with a twist. In Fight Club, Edward Norton’s Narrator realizes Brad Pitt’s Tyler Durden is another personality inside his mind, and kills Durden by shooting himself in the mouth. This theory implies that, in Joker: Folie à Deux’s final moments, Joker kills the Arthur Fleck aspect of his personality, allowing the brutal, psychopathic persona to run wild. This would fix one of the biggest complaints that Folie à Deux has been subjected to.

Joker 2’s Ending Theory Fixes A Major Complaint About The Movie’s Finale

Many Wanted Joker: Folie À Deux To End Differently

In the same way that Lee wanted Arthur Fleck to transform into the Joker throughout Joker: Folie à Deux, so did many audience members. When this didn’t happen, and, in fact, Arthur Fleck shocked everyone by completely renouncing Joker and suggesting it hadn’t been a different side of his personality, Folie à Deux opened itself up to a huge wave of criticism. This new Reddit theory provides a great fix for these concerns, as it suggests that Joker was a separate persona, and he evidently didn’t take kindly to Fleck’s comments.

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This would also be a good way for DC to retain the powerful message and focus on mental health issues in Joker: Folie à Deux, while still giving audiences some relief. Arthur Fleck’s suggestion that Joker never existed perhaps directly contradicts the events of 2019’s Joker, which saw Fleck murder six people in cold blood, including late night talk-show host Murray Franklin and his own mother. It’s hard to ignore the idea that Joker does indeed exist, and this theory would provide much-needed clarification.

What This Theory Could Mean For The Joker’s Future After Folie À Deux

No Further Joker Sequels Are Planned At DC

Shortly before Joker: Folie à Deux’s premiere, director Todd Phillips revealed to The Hollywood Reporter that he has no plans to produce any further installments in this franchise. There are no plans for Joker 3, or for a spinoff featuring Gaga’s Lee. Even so, Joker: Folie à Deux’s ending, particularly if this theory is implemented, perfectly sets up at least one more sequel. The theory implies that Joker takes full control of Arthur Fleck’s body, which would be fantastic to see in a sequel, while the movie’s official ending also teases a new Joker emerging.

It’s not really where this movie is headed for me. I feel like my time in the DC Universe was these two films.

After the negative response from many, though not everybody, to Joker: Folie à Deux, it seems as though Arthur Fleck and Lee’s stories may be completely over. Barry Keoghan’s Joker may be developed further in Matt Reeves’ The Batman – Part II, while the iconic DC Comics villain may also be reinvented for James Gunn’s new DC Universe. This Reddit theory concerning the ending of Joker: Folie à Deux, however, is very interesting, and believable given Fleck’s unreliable narration, so it would be a shame to see the franchise end so soon.

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.

Director

Todd Phillips

Release Date

October 4, 2024

Studio(s)

Warner Bros. Pictures

Cast

Joaquin Phoenix , Lady Gaga , Brendan Gleeson , Catherine Keener , Zazie Beetz , Steve Coogan , Harry Lawtey , Leigh Gill , Jacob Lofland , Sharon Washington , Troy Fromin , Bill Smitrovich , John Lacy , Ken Leung

Runtime

138 Minutes

prequel(s)

Joker

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