Kevin Smith has claimed that Joker almost had a darker alternative ending where the titular villain triggers the start of a world in which Batman doesn’t exist.
The DC Comics origins movie secured the biggest October box office opening of all time earlier this year and saw Joaquin Phoenix garnering acclaim for his portrayal of Arthur Fleck – a failed comedian who eventually becomes the titular villain.
“Originally, the ending in the hospital was different,” Smith recounted on the latest episode of his Fatman Beyond podcast.
“He’s [Joker] in the hospital and he laughs, chuckles, and he says, ‘I was just thinkin’ of something funny. What was supposed to happen was you flashed back to the death of Thomas and Martha Wayne and it was him killing Thomas and Martha Wayne and the boy [Bruce Wayne] was screaming and crying and he turned to walk away and he turned back, shrugged, and shot the kid. Credits.”
“What the fuck, man? This world has no Batman,” the Clerks creator added.
Director Todd Phillips is yet to respond to Smith’s claims.
The movie recently became the most profitable comic book movie ever, as well as the highest-grossing R-rated movie of all time.
Meanwhile, following reports that Joker is set to get a sequel, it has since emerged that there are “no deals” for Joker 2 “at this point”.