Joaquin Phoenix has revealed that the final scene of the movie – which formed the crux of the ambiguous Joker ending – has several alternate takes. The Joker actor unveiled the teasing tidbit during an impromptu appearance at The Alamo Drafthouse theater in Los Angeles.
Spoilers for the Joker movie follow.
Speaking post-screening, Phoenix revealed: “That last scene – we did seven different versions of walking down the hallway.”
The finished product sees Arthur Fleck – now committed to Arkham State Hospital in what may or may not be a dream sequence – gleefully running down the hallway, having seemingly murdered a hospital worker. He also squirms loose of the clutches of an approaching security guard before, fittingly, making his exit stage left while still handcuffed.
Phoenix didn’t outline exactly how things were different, only that several iterations were left on the cutting room floor. This also extends to the overall movie itself, as a clearly reticent Phoenix explained to the audience: “For me, I’ve seen so many different versions of the movie – I don’t get to view it like you do,” before cheekily stating, “Maybe it’s better? I don’t know.”
Unless Phoenix is joking – GamesRadar+’s own interview with the actor included him saying Todd Phillips’ suggestion of Phoenix wanting the movie’s title to be “Arthur” instead of “Joker” was just the director “fucking with you” – then all eyes will inevitably turn towards the home release in expectation of a handful of Joker deleted scenes. We might even get to see a different side to Arthur’s curtain call.
