Joker: Folie a Deux releases in theaters soon, revealing the aftermath seen in the first Joker movie starring Joaquin Phoenix. Known as Arthur Fleck, 2019"s Joker revealed a dark and twisted origin for the classic DC villain unlike anything seen previously in the comics or elsewhere. Now, Folie a Deux intends to continue the journey of Arthur Fleck"s Joker now that he"s become a dark icon and rallying symbol for Gotham"s most disenfranchised, disturbed, and angriest citizens.
Coming from director Todd Phillips, Joker: Folie a Deux will be primarily focused on Arthur Fleck"s public trial, his incarceration in Arkham State Hospital, and his relationship with fellow patient Harley Quinn (Lady Gaga). Featuring musical elements as well, Folie a Deux promises to be quite a unique film in its own right despite being a sequel.
That being said, here are the biggest things from 2019"s Joker that will likely be important to remember before seeing Joker: Folie a Deux.
10 Joker Killed Murray Franklin On Live Television Arthur Fleck's Official Debut As The Joker The biggest thing to remember is that Arthur Fleck pubically debuted his new Joker persona on live television, having been invited to the Murray Franklin Show after his lackluster stand-up routine was featured on the show. Not only does Arthur confess to his past killings while he was dressed as a clown, but he also shares a personal manifesto about what he felt was wrong with Gotham before shooting Robert De Niro"s Murray in the head. Naturally, this sends the entire audience and production into chaos, as well as the entire city who saw it happen live.
Joker"s murder and confessions on live television will likely play a big part in Folie a Deux. After all, the footage will likely be used as key evidence during Arthur"s trial. At the same time, the murder and Arthur"s television appearance also served as the spark that made him a symbol to others in Gotham who feel the same way he does.
9 Arthur Fleck's Joker Ignited A Major Riot In Gotham City Inspiring Others To Chaos Close Arthur"s appearance on live television also resulted in mass riots across Gotham as many citizens took to the streets dressed as clowns themselves. As Joker, Arthur became a dark inspiration, taking the city that was already full of tensions and turning it into a time bomb. He then set off when he killed Murray Franklin, while also loving the new public spotlight he made for himself. Likewise, the mass support for Arthur will play a part in Joker: Folie a Deux, with many still supporting Fleck during his trial as seen in trailers.
8 Arthur Fleck Was Incarcerated In Arkham State Hospital He'll Still Be There At The Start of Folie à Deux Close After his eventual arrest, Arthur was shown incarcerated and trying to escape Arkham State Hospital at the end of 2019"s Joker. Arthur had been shown visiting Arkham earlier in the movie where it seems he"d once had a temporary stay and had also been receiving medication and routine psychiatric visits following his release. It was also confirmed that Arthur stopped taking his meds after he lost his social worker due to funding cuts.
To that end, trailers for Folie a Deux have shown that Arthur will continue to be incarcerated in Arkham ahead of his trial. Also, it seems he"ll eventually meet Lady Gaga"s version of Harley known as "Lee" in Arkham as well. Rather than being a psychiatrist herself as seen in the Batman animated series and the original comics, Lee will be a fellow Arkham inmate.
7 Arthur Hallucinated His Relationship With Sophie Lady Gaga's Harley Quinn Will Likely Be His First Real Relationship Close In 2019"s Joker, Arthur meets his neighbors Sophie (Zazie Beetz) and her daughter. The pair quickly form a relationship, and the eventually go on a few dates. This includes Sophie attending and supporting Arthur"s stand-up comedy. However, it"s eventually revealed that Arthur hallucinated the entire relationship near the movie"s end, the result of his various mental disorders.
Keeping that in mind, it does mean that Lee will likely become Arthur"s first real love interest. However, it stands to reason that the attraction for Lee is more about Joker than it will be about Arthur. At any rate, it will be darkly fascinating to see how the duo comes together and embraces their shared chaos in Folie a Deux.
6 Arthur Killed Randall (But Spared Gary) Gary Will Be Taking The Stand Close While getting ready for the Murray Franklin show, Arthur is visited by Randall and Gary (Leigh Gill), fellow clowns he worked with before he was fired for carrying a gun. While they wanted to meet with Arthur to get their stories straight after detectives were asking questions investigating the clown who murdered three people on the subway, Arthur responded by killing Randall who gave him the gun in the first place. However, he lets Gary live as he"d been the nicest person he"d worked with.
Gary"s survival is important to remember seeing as how he"s confirmed to appear in Folie a Deux. Seen in trailers taking the stand in a courtroom, he"s most likely going to provide testimony during Arthur"s trial. That said, it will be interesting to see if said testimony will end up helping or harming Arthur"s case.
5 Gotham Is Still Engaged In Significant Class Warfare The Poor vs The Rich It"s also important to remember that Arthur Fleck becoming the Joker and his murders were simply the straw that broke the camel"s back. Gotham was already in turmoil before Arthur became a public figure, as evidenced by ongoing garbage strikes while one of Gotham"s wealthiest was running for mayor. Likewise, Thomas Wayne"s comments condemning Arthur"s murders only exacerbated Gotham"s major class divide: "Those of us who made something of our lives will always look a those who haven"t as nothing but clowns". As such, it looks as though that class warfare is only continuing in Folie a Deux with Arthur having become a key lightning rod.
4 Arthur Suffers From A Neurological Condition And A Mental Disorder PBA, Psychopathic Tendencies, Depression, Narcissism Close It"s also important to remember Arthur Fleck"s various neurological conditions and disorders that were shown in 2019"s Joker. The most obvious and predominant condition is Arthur"s pseudobulbar affect (PBA) where he uncontrollably laughs when stressed or emotional, often at inappropriate times. However, Arthur also suffers from dissociative disorders, narcissism, depression, while also exhibiting psychopathic tendencies, the bulk of which stem from extensive childhood abuse. As such, Arthur looks to still have these conditions in Folie a Deux, and they"ll likely be brought up during his trial as well.
3 The Joker Riots Led To The Deaths Of Bruce Wayne's Parents The Origins of Batman Close While this likely won"t play as much of a role in Folie a Deux, it"s worth remembering that the night of the riots Arthur Fleck instigated was not the origins of Joker alone. It was also the origin of Bruce Wayne and the start of his journey as Batman, seeing as how Thomas and Martha Wayne were killed by one of the rioters. As such, it does create an interesting dichotomy between the two classic DC Comics nemeses.
2 Arthur Fleck Killed His Mother Penny Fleck
Suffering from her own disorders and dissociations, Penny Fleck (Frances Conroy) adopted Arthur Fleck as a child, abusing him along with her boyfriend which resulted in Arthur"s various conditions and disorders. She too spent time in Arkham, and she also fabricated a fiction in which she had had a romantic relationship with Thomas Wayne whom she once worked for. She even went so far as to suggest that Arthur was his son, resulting in Arthur trying to confront Wayne in 2019"s Joker.
For his part, Arthur"s abuse and conditions led him to forget his mother"s role in the abuse, which is why they were still living together in the present. Once Arthur learned the truth about his mother"s lies, Fleck smothered Penny with a pillow. As such, it"s yet another murder that will likely be addressed during Arthur"s trial in Folie a Deux.
1 Joker's Fame Began By Killing The Wall Street Three His First Murders, Dressed As A Clown Close Beyond killing Murray Franklin, Randall, and his mother, Arthur"s entire journey began when he was attacked by a group of rich guys on the subway. Shooting and killing the "Wall Street Three", witness reports confirmed that they"d been killed by a clown, as Arthur had just been fired by the troupe he"d been working for and was still wearing his wig and makeup. To that end, these initial murders kicked off Arthur"s entire transformation into the Joker by the film"s end, while also gaining the public"s attention and stoking the tensions of Gotham"s major class divide.
Furthermore, Joker confessed to these murders on live television. He took credit for killing the Wall Street Three on the Murray Franklin show right before killing Murray himself. As such, the Wall Street Three murders will almost certainly be brought up and referenced during Arthur"s trial in Folie a Deux.
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