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Joker 2’s Cinematographer Confirms The Presence Of Another Massive Batman Connection, And Where You Need To Look To See It

By Charles | 7 Oct 2024

This story will dig into spoilers for the new movie Joker: Folie a Deux. This is only for people who have seen the movie, or who don’t mind hearing plot details. Proceed with caution.

Todd Phillips has made two Joker movies set in the DC universe that play fast and loose regarding their connections to Batman. The only real appearance of the Caped Crusader happens in the first Joker, when Arthur Fleck (Joaquin Phoenix) approaches a young Bruce Wayne, who he thinks might be his half-brother. By the end of Joker: Folie a Deux, it’s clear that Fleck is not the criminal mastermind who will lock horns with Batman over the years. In fact, Arthur might have been murdered by the guy who becomes Joker… if that person actually goes on to become The Joker, at all.

When Joker: Folie a Deux cinematographer Lawrence Sher stopped by the ReelBlend podcast to discuss his work on the film, we asked him to confirm that this is Two-Face’s origin in this cinematic world, Sher told us:

I think so. Half his face is all bloody. I think so. I mean, it’s subtle. It's not crazy. But yeah, that's what it's meant to be. That's what I think it's meant to be, one hundred percent.

What does this mean? Not much. As I mentioned, Joker and Joker: Folie a Deux aren’t that interested in fleshing out the Batman world of these movies. Unlike, say, the HBO series The Penguin – which is acting as a bridge between two of Matt Reeves’ movies – the Joker films aren’t building toward anything. We’ll never see the outcome of this Harvey’s conversion. It’s just a unique detail to add to the pile.

Also, Christopher Nolan also changed Two-Face’s origin when he used the character in The Dark Knight. Remember this scene?