Every interpretation of the Joker for nearly 85 years has added something to the character’s mythology. One of the most memorable was the late Heath Ledger’s “Glasgow smile,” which is The Dark Knight’s gruesome take on the iconic villain’s rictus grin. But according to The Hollywood Reporter, Todd Phillip’s Joker nearly ended with Joaquin Phoenix’s character giving himself the same scar. However, The Dark Knight trilogy’s director, Christopher Nolan, put a stop to it. He felt that aspect of the Joker should remain unique to Ledger. Now, they’ve resurrected the Glasgow smile for Joker: Folie a Deux, although not with Arthur Fleck.
Apparently, the first movie’s original script featured Arthur Fleck carving his face in front of a crowd of his supporters. This would have happened at the climax of the film, after Fleck murders someone on live television. Christopher Nolan at the time was very influential at Warner Bros., so when he didn’t want that to happen, the executives at the studio listened to him. But with Nolan having moved on from Warner Bros., the studio allowed for a similar ending for Joker: Folie a Deux. Only it wasn’t Arthur Fleck who mutilated his own face, it was an unnamed inmate in Arkham State Hospital.
In the end of Joker: Folie a Deux, the unknown inmate (Connor Storrie) stabs Arthur to death. This is after he abandons his Joker persona during his televised trial. The inmate, who is laughing maniacally, takes that same knife and slices his face into the shape of a smile. The implication is that this is the “real” Joker. The same Joker who will become Batman’s arch nemesis and “ the Clown Prince of Crime” years later. Some fans believed this event made Joker a prequel to The Dark Knight. However, too many things in the Joker continuity don’t match up with Nolan’s trilogy. Regardless of how one feels about the movie, we do think enough time has passed that this aspect of Joker’s character can be passed down to other actors.
