Warning: This article contains spoilers for Joker: Folie à Deux.Joker: Folie à Deux has not fared so well, dividing audiences and critics alike because of its stripped-back, somewhat anticlimactic narrative and style.
There was a huge amount of anticipation for Joker's sequel prior to its release in October 2024. This was ed by trailers and leaked footage from Joker: Folie à Deux, some of which suggested that Lady Gaga's Lee, Folie à Deux's version of DC Comics' Harley Quinn, would be developed as much as Joaquin Phoenix's Arthur Fleck. However, many scenes from Joker: Folie à Deux's trailers didn't make it into the final movie, and this massively impacted Gaga's role in the sequel, while also completely changing the movie's suspected original narrative.
7 Lee Walks Up The "Joker Stairs"
The "Joker Stairs" Are Significant To Arthur Fleck's Development
The very first teaser trailer for Joker: Folie à Deux was released as part of Warner Bros.' presentation at 2024's CinemaCon in April. This raised excitement for the sequel, and provided the first real look at Lady Gaga's Lee opposite Joaquin Phoenix's Arthur Fleck. This teaser trailer seemed to imply that Lee would get some independent development, as she could be seen walking up the iconic "Joker Stairs", filmed at the West 167th Street Step Stairs in the Bronx. This is a significant location in the story of Arthur Fleck's Joker.
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Fleck dances as the Joker on the "Joker Stairs" in the original 2019 movie, and these stairs mark the location of the final goodbye between Arthur Fleck and Lee moments before he is re-arrested in Joker: Folie à Deux. During the 2024 movie, Lee suggests that she grew up in Fleck's neighborhood, and while this was later debunked, her affinity with the "Joker Stairs" could have hinted at this being true. She also notes that she bought Fleck's old apartment, which lies near the "Joker Stairs," so including this scene could have actually shown this side-story on-screen.
6 Arthur Fleck Looks Through The Fence Of Arkham
Arthur Fleck Was Incarcerated In Arkham At The End Of Joker
In the final trailer prior to Joker: Folie à Deux's release, titled "That's Life," Arthur Fleck can be seen peering through the fence of Arkham Asylum, but this brief scene wasn't included in the theatrical cut of the movie. This scene was ultimately inconsequential, especially since a lot of Joker: Folie à Deux's storyline took place within the walls of Arkham anyway. Most notably, Arthur Fleck meets Lee, who actually turns out to be psychiatry student Harleen Quinzel, in Arkham, and Fleck's tumultuous relationship with the abusive guards, including Brendan Gleeson's Jackie Sullivan, is also developed.
It's unclear when this moment would have been seen in Joker: Folie à Deux. Perhaps during the movie's opening moments, prior to Arthur Fleck meeting Lee in Arkham's singing therapy sessions, or even towards the end of the movie, which sees Fleck re-imprisoned following his elaborate trial and his shocking confession. This scene could have put Fleck's desire to escape Arkham front-and-center, though he would only get this wish very briefly after a car bomb destroys the courthouse.
5 Harley Quinn Is Pregnant
Lee's Pregnancy Could Have Been Another Lie
Following their awkward tryst in Arkham Asylum, Lee reveals to Arthur Fleck that she had become pregnant with his child in Joker: Folie à Deux. While the theatrical cut of the movie never actually confirms whether this is true, or whether Fleck is imagining this moment, or, indeed, whether Lee is simply lying to retain his trust and love, the movie's trailers showcased Harley Quinn's pregnancy fully. In some of the trailers' most popular cut scenes, Joker and a pregnant Harley Quinn dance on the steps outside the courthouse.
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Including this scene in Joker: Folie à Deux would have perhaps confirmed that Lee's pregnancy was nothing more than a figment of Arthur Fleck's imagination. Instead, the movie ends without providing a definitive answer whether Lee is pregnant or not, and seems to completely forget that this was in fact ever mentioned, as Lee abandons Fleck and the latter is subsequently murdered without the pregnancy ever being addressed. Omitting this scene made Lee's possible pregnancy an unnecessary and inconsequential plot point.
4 Lee Smiles In The Elevator In Her Harley Quinn Get-Up
Lee Never Truly Became Harley Quinn In Joker: Folie À Deux
Audiences only got the chance to see Lady Gaga in her full Harley Quinn get-up very momentarily in Joker: Folie à Deux, as Lee met with Arthur Fleck following the car bomb explosion with short hair, in full make-up, and in a recognizable Harley Quinn costume. Lee's transition into Harley Quinn over the duration of Joker: Folie à Deux was brilliant, but never got a real pay-off. Trailers for the sequel revealed that more attention was originally going to be put on Gaga's Harley Quinn, including showing her in the elevator in Arthur Fleck's former building.
It was primarily scenes involving Lady Gaga's Harley Quinn that were cut from the theatrical release of Joker: Folie à Deux, leading many to suspect that the movie originally ended with Joker and Harley Quinn escaping together.
This scene would have stressed the fact that Lee bought Arthur Fleck's old apartment, which he previously shared with his abusive and ailing mother, played by s Conroy, in Joker. It's implied that Lee was the instigator of the car bomb that destroyed the courthouse and briefly freed Arthur Fleck, and focusing more on her journey to meet Fleck on that fateful day could have either confirmed or debunked this idea. Instead, Joker: Folie à Deux ended with many unanswered questions and little focus on Gaga's Harley Quinn.
3 Harley Sings As Arthur Fleck Is Arrested
Lee & Arthur Fleck's Goodbye Was Almost More Entertaining
This scene was not included in any trailers for Joker: Folie à Deux, but set videos from the production of the sequel revealed that Arthur Fleck and Lee's final goodbye on the "Joker Stairs" almost culminated in another musical moment. This would have put Lee's transformation into Harley Quinn front-and-center, as she sings and dances on the stairs in the same manner that Fleck did in 2019's Joker, moments before police arrive to apprehend Fleck. It's a shame this moment wasn't used to mark the end of Fleck and Lee's relationship.
The musical elements of Joker: Folie à Deux have been a point of contention, as some didn't realize the movie would take on the musical genre, despite it being reported months ago. In fact, the Joker: Folie à Deux made a huge amount of sense, and put the delusions and anti-social behaviors of both Arthur Fleck and Lee front-and-center. Ending the pair's destructive relationship with another musical moment would have been spectacular, and perhaps would have made more sense for the overall narrative, rather than just having Lee walk away.
2 Lee Kisses A Woman Outside The Courthouse
Lee's Courthouse Kiss Being Cut Was A Controversial Choice
Again, this scene also wasn't seen in official trailers for Joker: Folie à Deux, but was unearthed in set videos from the movie, and has recently become a point of controversy due to it being cut. In the scene, Lady Gaga's Lee reacts to a comment from a woman in the crowd outside the courthouse by kissing her. Director Todd Phillips revealed to Entertainment Weekly that this scene was cut as it needed to have dialogue, but he wanted a "music and vibe moment," but this choice has garnered new criticism aimed at the omission of Harley Quinn's bisexuality.
During his conversation with Entertainment Weekly, Todd Phillips confirmed that Lady Gaga initially improvised this scene. This proves just how invested she had become in bringing Lee to life fully, and perhaps filling her version of Harley Quinn with some of the character's DC Comics' backstory and personality, which it seems Phillips tried to avoid. Nevertheless, this scene was ultimately cut, causing a stir among viewers, particularly since it was replaced with a rather unnecessary and ineffectual musical moment.
1 Joker & Harley Dance On The Courthouse Stairs
Joker & Harley's Dancing Hinted At An Alternate Ending For Joker: Folie À Deux
Perhaps the most notable scene that was featured in most of the promotional material for Joker: Folie à Deux, but was omitted from the theatrical release, is the scene of Joker and Harley Quinn exiting the courthouse and dancing on the stairs before a huge crowd. This scene presumably would have taken place in Arthur Fleck's imagination, as he and Lee are dressed pristinely as Joker and Harley, their dancing has a dream-like quality, and Harley's pregnancy is clearly showing. Nevertheless, this scene could have also teased an alternate ending for Folie à Deux.
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In the theatrical ending of Joker: Folie à Deux, Arthur Fleck briefly escapes from captivity after a car bomb destroys the courthouse, but he is soon recaptured and later killed in cold blood by another Arkham Asylum inmate, portrayed by Connor Storrie. This cut scene could imply that, in an alternate ending, Fleck is acquitted of his crimes, allowing him to leave the courthouse as Joker and dance with Harley Quinn on the steps. This could have set up future adventures for Joker and Harley after Joker: Folie à Deux, but it instead seems their stories are, unfortunately, over.
Joker: Folie a Deux
- Release Date
- October 4, 2024
- Runtime
- 138 Minutes
- Director
- Todd Phillips
Cast
Arthur Fleck
Lee Quinzel
WHERE TO WATCH
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.
- Distributor(s)
- Warner Bros. Pictures
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