Five years after the polarizing and extremely successful DC film Joker, the sequel is now showing in cinemas. Joker 2: Folie à deux shows the harsh everyday life of Arthur Fleck (Joaquin Phoenix) in Arkham Asylum, where he develops feelings for his fellow inmate Lee (Lady Gaga) aka Harley Quinn, who is obsessed with him. Finally there is a trial in which Arthur has to answer for his actions from his predecessor.
After Joker sparked strong discussions, the end of Joker 2 will be the subject of much discussion again. We explain to you what happens in the finale of the sequel and what consequences this might have for a possible Joker 3.
Warning, spoilers for Joker 2: Folie à deux follow.
The ending of Joker 2 is as hard as it is consistent
Towards the end of the trial, Arthur fired his lawyer (Catherine Keener) to defend himself. In a long speech he finally admits that he only wants to be Arthur Fleck and that he wants to banish the Joker from his life as a second personality.
Unsurprisingly, he is found guilty of all the murders from the first part. However, the most likely death penalty is not announced, because at the moment it is read out A car bomb explodes in front of the courtroomwhich destroyed large parts of the building.
Arthur comes to in a daze and is bundled into a car outside by violent Joker fans, from which he flees again. On the infamous steps of his predecessor he meets Lee one last time, who disappointingly rejects him. Since Arthur broke up with the Joker, their love is also gone without the clown psychopath in him.
As Lee runs away, he is caught by approaching police officers and taken back to the mental institution. This is where Joker 2: Folie à deux ends, when Arthur is informed that he has visitors. On the way there he is approached by a fellow inmate who was previously an ardent Joker supporter. He tells Arthur a joke, the punchline of which suddenly makes him stop Pulls out a knife and stabs the protagonist several times.
Arthur, fatally injured, takes refuge one last time in a fantasy musical number and then bleeds to death on the floor. Meanwhile, in the background, it is blurry to see how the manically laughing attacker carves the iconic Joker smile into his face with the knife.
Joker 2 ending clearly rejects any further sequel
The final moments of the DC sequel leave no doubt that Arthur Fleck is dead. So Joker 3 is pretty clearly ruled out after this ending. If the sequel turns out to be a similar financial mega-hit as Part 1, the studio Warner Bros. will still be very interested in making another film.
Whether the last scene will then be taken back as an illusion or whether a third Joker film will begin at a completely different moment in the plot is currently pure speculation.
What is certain is that director Todd Phillips filmed a second part rather reluctantly. For him, Joker 2019 was a stand-alone work without any major franchise ulterior motives.
A Variety interview with Phillips also speaks against Joker 3, in which he says:
It was fun to play in that kind of sandbox for two films, but I think we said what we wanted to say in that world. In other words: Don’t wait for Joker 3.
So it’s pretty clear that Joker shouldn’t get more than these two films. If a Third part still announced will, we will report about it for you.