Summary
Now that audiences are finally getting another look at Todd Phillips' version of theJokerin his new film, it’s officially time to start wondering what might come next. It’s an open question as to whetherJoker: Folie à Deuxis the end of a franchise or the middle movie in what could eventually become a trilogy. Phillips hasn’t talked about whether Joker 3 might be a possibility just yet, as he’s been focusing on getting the Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga-starring film out the door.
IfJoker 2is the end of this franchise, it doesn’t have to be Phillips' final movie using DC Comics as the basis for these more reality-basedversions of classic villains. It’s possible that Phillips already has the model for his next project. It’s even possible he wanted to tease audiences with the character and leave them wanting quite a bit more, by not offering what many people hoped would be the big reveal inFolie à Deux.
Joker 2 Might Not Be The End Of This Story
When the trailers forJoker 2first launched, fans of the new franchise were quite excited to see one lawyer talking to the media amid what appeared to be a trial for Arthur Fleck, aka The Joker. It took no time at all for audiences to put two and two together and correctly guess the attorney was none other thanAssistant District Attorney Harvey Dent. Dent of course is better known to DC Comics fans as Two-Face. Some people even wondered whether Phillips would introduce the new character as part of the action forFolie à Deux. However, long before the film hit theaters, the director made it clear there wasn’t any intention of introducing another iconic criminal to the movie; having Dent be the man who was prosecuting Fleck was simply too good an opportunity to pass up. He said as much in an interview withIGNearlier this fall. In the same breath, Phillips shot down the hopes of millions that Dent would become Two-Face in this film.
“But it’s not about his – we don’t really reveal his dark side. We see a young Harvey Dent.”
While Phillips didn’t offer up the villain that so many hoped would make an appearance, there’s no guarantee that Harvey Dent won’t eventually turn into that character in a future film. The biggest question would be how it would happen. One of the things that has people wanting the director to take on this character is how he routinely offers the “real world"version of the larger than life crimals.
Arther Fleck doesn’t fall into a vat of chemicals, he doesn’t get his face chopped up, and he doesn’t turn into the “clown price of crime” overnight. We get to see how one of the most beloved bad guys can really be born. He’s just someone who at first,is rather tragic. He even seems like a genuinely nice, if strange person before he decides that it’s more fun to be bad. The same is done with Harley Quinn, who is usually portrayed as even more of a cartoonish figure than the joke himself. But in Phillips' version of the character, she’s really just a woman who has some issues of her own and gravitates to Fleck for reasons that some people could absolutely see happening in the real world.
A More Grounded Two-Face Could Be Compelling
If Todd Phillips does decide to launch a Two-Face movie from Harvey Dent’s appearance in Joker 2, it seems like it could work quite well in thesame way that Matt Reeves’The Penguinseries on Max is working. It could offer up a real world look at a character that is over the top in some ways but is far more ground than even Arthur Fleck’s Joker in others. At his core, Two-Face is a very understandable and relatable person.
At his core, Two-Face is a very understandable and relatable person.
Harvey Dent is someonewho has put some much pressure on himself that in the end, he cracks. He wants so much to be a good person that his personality splinters. In most of the movies, it happens with some sort of horrific accident as the catalyst, but there are plenty of people out in the real world who go bad simply because of something internal.
Phillips has not said whether he will work on another movie like this.
The Todd Phillips version of Two-Face wouldn’t need to have half his face burned awaylike Aaron Eckhart’s versionof the character did inTheDark Knight. It could simply be a man who flips his personality the same way he flips a coin to make decisions. In fact, that would make the character quite a bit more interesting as the ugliness inside of him isn’t quite so obvious. Add in the fact that someone who makes his bones by trying some of the most famous criminals in a major city, turning to a life of crime will always be interesting, and Phillips, should he decide to go to another franchise along the lines ofJoker: Folie à Deuxit could end up being even more popular and really start a chain reaction that could allow for deep dives into other DC heroes and villains with a more realistic feel.
