Warner Bros. has been selling their next comic-book movie as anything but your classic superhero movie. And Joker certainly doesn't share much with the likes of Aquaman, Batman, and Wonder Woman other than a DC logo at the front. Instead, the movie strives to be a character study – one that looks at the effects PTSD and childhood trauma can have on a man who's mentally unstable.
As such, there is no Joker post-credits scene, thus further distinguishing it from the other superhero movies out there. However, that's not to say an end-of-movie teaser was never considered by director Todd Phillips. We spoke to the filmmaker about what could have featured at the end of Joker.
"The idea of a post-credits scene in this movie would seem wrong, and a little too light for me," he tells 12DOVE. "That wouldn't have been something we did. But Joaquin [Phoenix] said it would be funny to put bloopers alongside the names like they did in the old days."
Unfortunately, there are no bloopers at the end of the movie. Instead, we're left with a list of names rolling down the screen to a musical cue we won't spoil. (If you have seen the movie and have questions, check out our Joker ending explained article.)
Phillips also talked about what surprised him about working with Phoenix. "It's difficult to quantify how any actor, but especially Joaquin, elevates a scene," he says. "You would almost need to have the page in front of you and then you would realise all the things this guy brings to the character. Simply, he surprised me in a myriad of ways. I would turn to the camera operator and say, 'Are you seeing this?" Clearly, he was. But it was just mindblowing."
12DOVE also met with Phoenix, who discussed the character's PTSD and how he found empathy in the Batman villain. Joker is in cinemas now.
