If you haven't seen Joker: Folie à Deux yet, major spoilers follow.
At the end of Todd Phillips' sequel, Arthur Fleck meets a violent end when he's stabbed by another Arkham inmate after first taking responsibility for the crimes he committed in the first movie by confessing during his trial.
It's a shocking, if seemingly inevitable development - but Arthur's demise was apparently going to play out very differently.
Shortly before he returns to Arkham State Penitentiary to serve out his sentence, Arthur catches up with Lee Quinzel (Lady Gaga) on the now iconic Joker Steps, and she appears to have done what her (former) idol could not by leaving her old life behind and fully embracing her new "Harley Quinn" persona.
However, it seems Lee was originally going to put an exclamation point on her transformation by killing Fleck herself.
In the resurfaced set video below, we see Quinn dancing and singing manically on the steps as police close in around her. How she murders Fleck is not clear, but according to several sources, this was the original ending of the movie. Why Warner Bros./Phillips decided to change it is not clear, but it probably wasn't due to the scene testing badly.
The studio reportedly decided not to test-screen the Joker sequel, which really isn't all that surprising!
Have a look at the video below, and let us know which ending you prefer in the comments section.
From acclaimed writer/director/producer Todd Phillips comes Joker: Folie À Deux, the much-anticipated follow-up to 2019’s Academy Award-winning Joker, which earned more than $1 billion at the global box office and remains the (second) highest-grossing R-rated film of all time.
The new film stars Joaquin Phoenix once again in his Oscar-winning dual role as Arthur Fleck/Joker, opposite Oscar winner Lady Gaga (A Star Is Born). The film also stars Oscar nominees Brendan Gleeson (The Banshees of Inisherin) and Catherine Keener (Get Out, Capote), alongside Zazie Beetz, reprising her role from Joker.
The movie is rated R for “some strong violence, language throughout, some sexuality, and brief full nudity.”
Do you plan on seeing the Joker sequel in theaters, or have the reviews put you off? Let us know in the comments section down below.