One of Joker’s planned endings never happened because Christopher Nolan reportedly stepped in to veto it.

Why Did Christopher Nolan Veto the Ending of Joker?

According to a report in The Hollywood Reporter, Joker had an ending where Joaquin Phoenix’s Arthur Fleck carved his face into a smile in front of a crowd of supporters. However, Nolan stepped in and “killed that idea.” Nolan believed that only his Joker, played by Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight, should carve his face.

For Joker: Folie à Deux, Phillips included a scene where someone else carved their face. At the end of the film, the patient who stabs Arthur begins cutting his face in the background while laughing hysterically.

Nolan left Warner Bros. for Universal to release Oppenheimer, meaning the Oscar winner was no longer around to stop the scene from happening. Further, Joker’s success led to Phillips being granted an “extraordinary level of autonomy and final cut” for Folie à Deux.

Because of its poor reviews and audience score, Joker: Folie à Deux is currently struggling at the box office. For a $200 million movie, Joker 2 severely underperformed in its opening weekend, with a domestic haul of $37.7 million. Joker opened to an October record of $96.2 million in 2019.

“Joker: Folie À Deux finds Arthur Fleck institutionalized at Arkham awaiting trial for his crimes as Joker,” Warner Bros. synopsis reads. “While struggling with his dual identity, Arthur not only stumbles upon true love, but also finds the music that’s always been inside him.”

Besides Phoenix, Joker: Folie À Deux stars Lady Gaga as Harleen “Lee” Quinzel, Brendan Gleeson as Jackie Sullivan, Catherine Keener as Maryanne Stewart, Zazie Beetz as Sophie Dumond, Steve Coogan as Paddy Meyers, and Harry Lawtey as Harvey Dent.

Joker: Folie À Deux is now in theaters.