If you like to go into a movie fresh, not knowing much in terms of plot, then a wise decision would be not to read any reviews from the trades. Variety and THR seem to have done it again, spoiling a film for readers. This time, it’s with Todd Phillips’ “Joker: Folie a Deux.”
—— SPOILERS BEWARE ——
In The Wrap's review, we learn that the sequel takes place two years after the events of Joker, leaving Arthur Fleck "awaiting his competency hearing."
The piece adds, "If Arthur’s found sane his trial will commence, and the death penalty is on the table, so his lawyer Maryanne Stewart (Catherine Keener) tries to prove it wasn’t Arthur who killed all those people - it was a separate personality who calls himself 'Joker.' But even Arthur doesn’t seem so sure."
That’s a good enough setup, and I don’t believe nothing we didn’t already know is revealed. However, Variety practically reveals the entire plot of the film:
Arthur is wasting away in Arkham State Hospital. He meets Lee, who devotes herself to him. He goes on trial, and the is-he-a-dual-personality-or-just-a-criminal debate unfolds. A verdict is reached. A fateful bomb explodes. The end.
Finally, THR confirms what Variety was hinting at by claiming the film “wipe(s) out an entire future for a key nemesis enshrined in comic-book mythology, rendering him a sad, broken man."
So, it’s not hard to figure all of this out. Joker and Lee set off a bomb during Arthur's trial, resulting in the death of Fleck/Joker. This would explain why Phillips recently told Variety that there will definitely not be “Joker 3.”
Netflix and Skydance Animation have also called it quits. The two sides announced Monday that they're ending the animated film deal struck back in 2023, framing it as a mutual decision.