Viral Joker Fan Theory Will Upend DC Movie For You Forever
After this theory, you will hardly be able to believe anything about the movie anymore.
Todd Phillips' Joker movie starring Joaquin Phoenix is quite mischievous on its own, never actually revealing what really happened and what was just a fantasy. This is why fans are still being tormented by guesses and theories as to where is the line between reality and delusion.
Many fans believe that Arthur Fleck is not, in fact, the real Joker, but just a mentally ill person who still might have inspired the actual Crime Prince to launch his terror campaign against Gotham City. However, one popular Reddit theory actually changes everything by not changing a thing.
According to this theory, Fleck is, in fact, the real Joker, even though not everything that happened in the movie was actually his doing. It was rather his own imagination (along with some news on the TV) that inspired him to become Joker.
"We know that Arthur inserts himself into fantasies, such as his relationship with Penny and his KING OF COMEDY moment. What if he (off-screen) saw the news story about the finance guys getting killed first and THEN imagined himself as the killer. This train of thought all started from the 'eight bullets in the six-shooter' problem: I think he imagines himself doing it but, not knowing anything about firearms, imagines the moment impossibly. HOWEVER, I think the rest of his evolution really happened," the theory author ComradeCarly suggests.
What makes this theory even more interesting is the fact that neither Todd Phillips nor Joaquin Phoenix has ever actually confirmed whether Fleck was the real Joker or not. The director teased that Arthur might not have been the real Crime Prince; while Phoenix, for his part, said that his opinion was that his character was the actual Joker.
This only left fans even more confused — which, let's be honest, is exactly the effect the creators might be aiming for. Now that Joker fans are awaiting the sequel, titled Folie à Deux, there is hope that the second movie will perhaps deliver some answers... or make things even crazier.
Joker: Folie à Deux is set to premiere in theaters on October 4, 2024.