Warning! This article contains SPOILERS for The Penguin episode 4.The Batman - Part IIcan do whatJoker: Folie à Deuxdid not, delivering the version ofDC’s Clown Prince of Crime that a lot of fans want to see on the big screen.The Batmanstands as one of thebest live-action Batman filmsever, with many comparing it to Christopher Nolan’sThe Dark Knightas the two very best Batman films to exist. The high level of that first movie has since continued asThe Batmanuniverse expands, with HBO’sThe Penguinseriesshowing how much this franchise can accomplish.
WhileThe Batmanuniverse is thriving, director Todd Phillips just ended his time at DC with the release ofJoker: Folie à Deux. The movie was the follow-up to 2019’sJoker, which was loved by fans and ended its global run with over $1 billion. Sadly,Joker: Folie à Deuxis a controversial film, delivering a very different story than expected, which has landed negatively with both critics and moviegoers.TheJokersequel has become a major box office bomb, and that clears the road forThe Batman - Part II’s version of the Joker to take over.
Barry Keoghan’s Joker Has Even Higher Expectations Now
Joker: Folie À Deux Subverted Expectations
Barry Keoghan only had a cameo inThe Batman’s ending, teasing what fans could see from his version of the Joker in a sequel. More details about the character were revealed after the Batman movie’s release, as Warner Bros. Discovery shared a deleted sequence whereRobert Pattinson’s Batman goes to Arkham Asylum to get help from Keoghan’s Jokerto deal with the Riddler. That established that Batman and the Joker have a past in this world, with the villain now in a similar role to Hannibal Lecter inThe Silence of the Lambs.
2019’sJokerwas a major success, breaking box office records and winning awards. As such,expectations were high forJoker: Folie à Deux, and now that the movie has proved itself a disappointment to most, the next live-action Joker has a major task ahead. Keoghan’s Joker already had to deal with being in the shadow of Heath Ledger’s portrayal of the character and Phoenix’s fan-favorite turn in the role, but withJoker: Folie à Deux’s failure, there is no room for another Joker controversy.The Batman - Part II’sstoryis expected to turn things around for the iconic villain.
The Penguin Subtly Sets Up a Brutal Joker
Sofia Falcone’s Story Teases What Can Be Expected From The Joker
The Penguinserves as the bridge betweenThe Batmanand its sequel. While the series' main job is to follow Colin Farrell’s Oz Cobb as he rises to power, showing how Gotham City deals with the power vacuum left by Carmine Falcone’s death, the series does much more than that.Keoghan’s Joker has not appeared inThe Penguin, nor should he, but the character is now even more menacing than his brief role inThe Batmanhad made him seem, and it is all because of Sofia Falcone.
The Batman - Part II Has 3 Perfect Villains Set Up But Only One Can Actually Appear
An update has revealed that two of the best possible villains for The Batman - Part II are unlikely to show up, though a third major foe may rise.
Sofia was sent to Arkham, the same place where Keoghan’s Joker has been for some time.The Penguinepisode 4 showed how her stay at the iconic DC Comics location was filled with horrors.Sofia was tortured terribly at Arkham and changed for the worse, becoming a darker version of herself when she got out. This more in-depth look at Arkham inThe Penguinshows how dangerous Keoghan’s Joker should be. If he comes out nearly as ruthless as Sofia did, thenThe Batman - Part IIwould easily have a more exciting Joker thanFolie à Deux.
Barry Keoghan Can Be The Joker Everyone Wanted From Joker 2
Arthur Fleck Was Not Gotham City’s Clown Prince Of Crime
The biggest controversy surrounding Phoenix’s latest turn as Batman’s main villain is related toJoker: Folie à Deux’s ending. After the first movie in the Joker franchise ended with the setup for Arthur Fleck to fully embrace his role as the Joker in the sequel,Joker: Folie à Deuxturned things upside down. Arthur spent most of the movie struggling with his choices, eventually realizing that the Joker was always a fantasy he had created. That angers those who had put their faith in him, likeConnor Storrie’s Young Inmate, who kills Arthurand is revealed as the true Joker.
Arthur Fleck does not kill anyone in Joker: Folie à Deux.
AfterArthur Fleck died without living up to the potential that the Joker has,The Batman - Part IIcan bring back to the big screen the Clown Prince of Crime version of the character from DC Comics thatJoker: Folie à Deuxsteered away from. The main issue with the Joker sequel is that Arthur Fleck’s villain side is never unleashed. After helping Batman, as was shown in the deleted scene, Keoghan’s Joker arc inThe Batman - Part IIcan be all about escaping Arkham and wreaking havoc, which everyone thoughtJoker: Folie à Deuxwould have done.
Joker: Folie a Deux
Cast
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.
The Penguin
Created by Lauren LeFranc, The Penguin is a crime-drama spin-off television series of 2022’s film The Batman. Set shortly after the events of The Batman, Oz Cobb, A.K.A. the Penguin, begins his rise in the underworld of Gotham City as he contends with the daughter of his late boss, Carmine Falcone, for control of the crime family’s empire.
The Batman Part II
The Batman Part II is the sequel to Matt Reeve’s The Batman, released in 2022, and will continue where the original film left off. The film shares a universe with the HBO Max original Penguin series and sees the return of the Riddler and a different incarnation of the Joker.
